


Detective Lucifer Morningstar

by arby2236



Series: Deckerstar Chronicles [1]
Category: Lucifer (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Different Powers, Alternate Universe - Lucifer (TV) Fusion, Character Study, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Hurt Chloe Decker, Lucifer Morningstar (Lucifer TV) Devil Reveal, Multi, Porn With Plot, Punisher Lucifer Morningstar, Sexy Chloe Decker, Some Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-04
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-16 03:42:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 22
Words: 31,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29200791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arby2236/pseuds/arby2236
Summary: What better way to punish evil than become a detective with the LAPD?What better way for a retired actress to invest her money than by buying LA's premier nightclub?
Relationships: Chloe Decker & Linda Martin, Chloe Decker & Mazikeen, Chloe Decker/Lucifer Morningstar, Dan Espinoza & Lucifer Morningstar
Series: Deckerstar Chronicles [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2182302
Comments: 179
Kudos: 238





	1. Lucifer Morningstar

**Author's Note:**

> Most A/U fanfics I've read retain the essential nature of the characters, and simply put them in different settings or give them different jobs. This one doesn't: the essential nature of several of the characters, especially Lucifer and Chloe, are substantially altered. Lucifer is darker, and much more devoted to punishment than pleasure. Chloe has the same attitude toward sex as the TV Lucifer does. So if you read this and think, "Chloe wouldn't do that," you're right. Not that Chloe, anyway.
> 
> There are several portions (in about four chapters) of this which would get an E rating. They are clearly marked, and you can pretty much avoid them without losing the thrust of the story. Pun fully intended.
> 
> Comments and suggestions welcome and appreciated. Updating daily, because I simply cannot stop writing this.

The Captain sighed as he sat down and put his feet up on the Lieutenant’s desk. “How the hell does someone go from beat cop to detective in five years?”

“Yeah, I agree. No one’s done it before, best of my knowledge.”

“Not even close. It’s normally twelve years plus. Best I’ve seen is eight.”

The Lieutenant shrugged. “Well, we’re not talking about an ordinary person here. Finished first on the detective's exam. Big margin, too.”

“So what’s the secret?”

“Works like a sonuvabitch. Like, never sleeps, can't begin to tell you how much overtime he's got. For some reason, real good at getting confessions, too. It’s like suspects just can’t shut up. As far as the physical requirements for the job, especially the strength and speed stuff, well…”

The captain took his feet down, leaned forward, and toyed with the snow globe on the Lieutenant’s desk. “Couple, three suspects have also wound up in mental hospitals. What’s the story with that?”

“Yeah,” the lieutenant sighed. “Last one kept blabbering about the Devil. That was three months ago, guy’s still over at the psych ward in Van Nuys, doped up to the gills. I don’t know, some people’re just goofy.”

The captain put the snow globe back, leaned forward, and looked at the lieutenant hard. “So you think Morningstar’s the real deal?”

The lieutenant exhaled slowly. “Well, it’s a little weird. Came here from London eight years ago, sailed through Cal State in three years, scored first on the exam at the academy, and here we are. But they did a full background check when he applied here, and he checks out.”

The captain’s attention was directed to the snow globe again. “You know what else is weird.? I went over it, too, and although everything’s there – school records, employment, vaccinations, although apparently that’s it for medical records, guy’s never been sick a day in his life, far as we can tell… But we’ve never been able to find anyone who actually remembers him from more than eight years ago. No teachers, no employers, no roommates. Not even family.”

“I’ve talked to him about that,” said the lieutenant. “Says he hasn’t seen his parents in ‘eons,’ whatever the fuck that means.”

“That’s the way Brits talk.”

“So we weren’t able to track the parents. Asked him whether he has any brothers or sisters, he says, ‘Not on an earthly plane.’” Both men laughed. “So I guess that has to do with that auto accident when he was nine, best I can figure.”

The captain stared at a spot about three feet to the left and a foot above the lieutenant’s head. “What do you think?” he said at last.

“Look, the guy’s a bit of a mystery, I’ll admit. But he’s been a great cop, and you’re not going to find anyone more motivated. Some guys are just here for the paycheck and the bennies, some really believe in what they’re doing, but this guy? Actually told me one time that he was dedicated to –” the lieutenant made air quotes – ‘punishing evil.’ Brits, right?” Both men laughed again.

“So how do you want to handle it?” asked the captain.

The lieutenant’s fingers did a drum-tap on the desk. “I think I’ll pair him up with Espinoza in Homicide. Take another look at that shooting at LUX last week.”

“Thought Espinoza closed that one out. Drug deal gone bad, something like that.”

“Count on Espinoza taking the path of least resistance. Shit, you know Espinoza. If he can't close out a case in the first twenty-four hours, it’s not getting solved. Couple of fresh eyes might help.”

The captain sighed and stood up. “Okay, I’ll sign off on it.” He chuckled.

“What’s so funny?” the lieutenant said as he stood to rise to his superior officer.

“Just thinking of the reaction he’s gonna get when he introduces himself to a witness as ‘Detective Lucifer Morningstar.’” 

* * * * *

Detective Daniel Espinoza looked up from his pudding to eye his new partner. “What the fuck?” was the first thing out of his mouth.

“Pardon?”

“Listen, pal, maybe somebody didn’t tell you, but we’re not going to a party.” Nazzari over in Vice was a natty dresser, and occasionally showed up in a three-piece suit, but even he didn’t sport a color-coordinated pocket square. Besides, the suit this Morningstar character was wearing looked like something someone wouldn’t be able to afford on a detective’s salary. Which gave Espinoza an idea that he’d have to check into later…

“I’m sorry, I meant no offense, I simply prefer to look my best.”

Espinoza felt a chill in his bones. The tall man was smiling at him, but the look was positively vulpine. “Hey, look, no worries. Standard dress is sort of like what I’m wearing.” He gestured to the suede jacket, sweatshirt, dark jeans, and work boots. Lucifer continued smiling, but Espinoza could swear he saw a look of distaste flicker over the man’s face.

“Actually,” Espinoza continued, “What you’ve got on might work for what you’ve gotta do here.”

“What might that be?” Lucifer sat down in a chair on the other side of the desk, stretching out his legs.

“There was this shooting at LUX last week? The nightclub?”

“I know of it. I’ve not had the opportunity to grace it with my presence.”

“Anyway, some singer got waxed there last week, right in front of the place. Pretty big deal, lots of press, Delilah something or other was her name. She was pretty hot shit, from what I was told, I don’t listen to that stuff so I wouldn’t know. Anyway, shooter gets wiped out by a bus as he’s making his getaway, turns out he was slinging dope, and Delilah was a customer. Don’t have to be Sherlock Holmes to figure out what happened there, right?”

Espinoza waited for Morningstar to nod his agreement. When that wasn’t forthcoming, Espinoza continued. “But my pain-in-the-ass lieutenant wants to take another look at it, I mean, it’s not like we’re not already buried up to our asses in other cases.” Lucifer’s eyes briefly flicked along Espinoza’s near-empty desk. “So give it another look-see just to shut the lieutenant up, okay?”

“I’ll read the file,” said Morningstar. “Anything else I should look for?”

“Might take a run at the club owner, see if she knows anything. I tried to talk to her the night of the shooting, she wouldn’t give me the time of day, told me to call her lawyer, Richards, something like that.” Espinoza smiled. “Maybe seeing as how you’re all spruced up, you’ll have better luck getting in than I did.”

Lucifer stood up, smoothing his cuffs. Espinoza glanced at the diamond-studded cufflinks. No way the guy didn’t take bribes, he thought. “A bit of warning. The club’s a cesspool, what with drugs and other stuff, why we haven’t been able to shut it down I have no idea. While we were interviewing witnesses there last week, one of the unis claims he saw two people actually fucking in one of the booths. And the owner’s a real piece of work, came across as a forty-eight carat bitch, if you know what I mean.”

Lucifer nodded. “I do,” he said, and left.

* * * * *

The most sought-after quality in a bouncer is the ability to look intimidating, and this particular one could’ve taught a master class in it. It was no wonder that they chose him to man the rope line at the entrance to the club. “I’d like to speak to the owner,” said Lucifer.

“Yeah, pal, and I’d like an audience with the Pope. I’ve got a better shot.” Why not amuse the guy, he thought. “And who should I say is calling?”

“Detective Lucifer Morningstar.”

The bouncer laughed out loud. “The fuck? You’re kidding, right? What kind of name is…” His voice faded as he looked into the other man’s eyes. There was something there, something beckoning but with just a hint of danger behind it. More than a hint, actually. Later, he would think that he’d seen the eyes change color, taking on a reddish hue, but he was sure he’d just imagined that.

The bouncer unhooked the rope. “I’ll let Miss Decker know you want to talk to her,” he said as Lucifer walked past him and into LUX.


	2. Chloe Decker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucifer meets Chloe. Not what the rom-com writers would call "meeting cute."

Patrick had the glass of bourbon in front of her within seconds of Chloe Decker plunking herself down on the barstool. “You doing okay, Miss Decker?” he asked solicitously, because it was obvious she wasn’t.

“I’m doing just fine, Patrick, thank you for asking.” Patrick correctly took that as a dismissal and moved down the bar to serve another customer. 

Chloe Decker was definitely not doing fine. That was the problem with hookups. The guy had certainly looked hot enough: tall, well-built, his hazel eyes mesmerizing in their contrast to his chocolate skin. But the package proved better than the contents, and once in bed, things had gone downhill fairly rapidly. He'd started off by eating her pussy -- good decision, that -- but his efforts had been perfunctory. He had a decent-sized dick, but his enthusiasm greatly exceeded his talents. She faked an orgasm in the hopes of bringing things to a merciful end, and succeeded; he climaxed seconds later. But he still had to stick around for another twenty minutes, basking in the apparent belief that he'd given her the experience of a lifetime. He hinted at making it a double feature, but Chloe told him she had to get back to running LUX, bid him adieu, and then instructed Maze to make sure that he never darkened LUX’s door again.

Still, as she turned away from the bar to look over the club, her sexual frustration dissipated. The place was hopping, as it was every night. After she’d demanded to get her character killed off in _Weaponizer 5_ , she’d plowed every cent of the money she’d saved into this place. She’d had to work hard and smart to make LUX LA’s premier night club, but it had been worth it, as the set of books _she_ kept showed. 

She never missed acting. Sure, there was the unlimited supply of drugs and sex, but she had that here, without the 4 AM wake-up calls, the fourteen-hour days, and the moronic scripts. She subscribed to the notion that one could tell how bad a movie sequel was going to be by multiplying that number by its predecessor: in other words, _Weaponizer 5_ would be twenty times as bad as _Weaponizer 4_. And it was. She still remembered the death scene and how she’d almost choked on that stupid blood capsule, all so she could mouth that cretinous catch phrase, “Not on my watch.” Like that was realistic after having been supposedly shot 47 times by three men wielding machine guns. She had no desire to find out if _Weaponizer 6_ would be thirty times worse.

It was only nine o’clock. Plenty of time to find another companion or two for the night.

She drained the glass of bourbon just as Maze approached. “There’s a detective here to see you,” she whispered. “Want me to get rid of him?” 

Chloe pondered the thought for a moment. “No, show him up. I could use some amusement." 

Maze disappeared into a side door and re-emerged a moment later. Chloe raised her eyebrows in appreciation. The detective was a heat-seeking sex missile: tall, with a neatly trimmed beard, carefully coifed black hair, starkly handsome features, adorned in a charcoal gray suit, white cuffed shirt, and a tie that perfectly matched his pocket square.

“Detective Lucifer Morningstar,” he said.

Chloe rolled her eyes. "Now even the detectives have stage names. How very LA."

"God-given, I'm afraid." He extended his hand.

Chloe shook it delicately and made no effort to hide the fact that she was looking him up and down. “Pleased to meet you, Detective Morningstar,” she said. “Looks like the LAPD has raised its hiring standards.” She gave him her most inviting smile, crossed her legs so that the slit in her dress rode up her thigh, and bent forward to give him a maximum peak at her cleavage. 

At this point, most men would have their mouths open. Some would actually start to sweat. All of them would have that gaze in their eyes, need mixing with want in a sexual alchemy that produced blind lust.

Lucifer nodded briefly. Nothing. He must be gay, thought Chloe, and instantly decided what her next reclamation project would be. They didn’t call her “the Skillet” for nothing.

Lucifer fixed his eyes fixed on hers. “I was wondering what you could tell me about the shooting last week.”

“What do you want to know?”

“How did you know the victim?”

“She used to sing here, she was a really good friend of mine, then she became a big star…” Chloe’s voice trailed off, and her eyes grew soft at the same time her face hardened. “And then somebody killed her.”

“Any idea who?”

“I think your corrupt little organization already figured that out, didn’t they? Haven’t you talked to, what was his name, Detective… Espinoza, I think it was?”

“He’s my new partner.”

“Lucky you. What a creep. He comes to talk to me, two minutes in and he’s already giving me this rapey vibe.” She smiled, deciding to give it another shot, then undressed him with her eyes. “You’re giving me a whole different vibe.” Her tongue flicked ever so delicately across her lower lip. She slipped off the bar stool and stood up, moving closer to him and tucking her fingers underneath his lapel. “Maybe we should continue this interview in the penthouse, Detective?”

Lucifer casually looked her over. Not classically beautiful, but he liked the way her blond hair was nicely curled and fell over her shoulders. The blue eyes were what made her pretty. And the red dress did nothing to disguise her figure. 

But he had a killer to punish. “I’m sorry, Miss Decker, I won’t be accompanying you to the penthouse or wherever. This isn’t a social call.”

She drew her finger down his arm, her blue eyes melting up at him. “Maybe some time it can be.”

Lucifer smiled politely. “I’m afraid it won’t. The department has strict rules against fraternizing with witnesses.”

“Is that what I am? I was told that it was simply a ‘disagreement’ between Delilah and her drug dealer, and the matter is closed.”

Lucifer had read the reports, and something didn’t sound right. It was too pat. “I think the man who shot Delilah just pulled the trigger. The man behind the gun, the real murderer, is the one who needs to be punished.”

Chloe’s expression went from flirty to hard again. “Yes, he does,” she said, and Chloe told herself she’d be damned if she was going to cry. She’d done quite enough of that the night her friend died. “Let’s go over to that booth. It’ll give us some privacy, and we can talk.” Lucifer hesitated a moment. “Don’t worry, Detective, we’re not going to have sex.” She playfully arched her eyebrows. “Yet.”

Patrick brought them two drinks as soon as they sat down. Lucifer politely declined his. There was someone to punish, and that was his sole focus. “So what do you know?”

Chloe played with her glass. “I talked to Delilah the night she … That night. She told me she was having troubles with somebody.”

“What kind of troubles?”

“She wouldn’t say.” Chloe took a sip of her drink. “But then later I saw her talking to some guy here, and it didn’t look like it was a pleasant conversation.”

“Describe him,” said Lucifer as he took out his pad and began to write.

“Not too tall, maybe 5’8, 5’10. Mid-forties. Greying hair, balding at the front. Sort of had a fivehead, if you know what I mean. Thin nose, double chin, pretty stocky, I’d guess about 200, 210. He was wearing a grey sweatshirt, khakis, loafers.”

Lucifer smiled appreciatively. “Very good, Ms. Decker.”

She touched his arm. “You can call me Chloe.”

“I’d prefer to keep this purely professional, Ms. Decker.”

Chloe pursed her lips. “Fine. _Detective._ ”

“But seriously, that is a very good description. You would not believe how often all a witness can produce is ‘white guy, medium build, 5’8 to 6’4.’ Maybe _you_ should be a detective.”

“I’d like to think that playing a cop in five movies did something.”

“Is there anything else you remember?” Lucifer said as he closed his notepad.

Chloe thought for a moment. “Yeah. I remember she told me that whatever was bothering her was so bad she had to start seeing a shrink about it.”

“Psychiatrist or psychologist?

“Not sure.”

“Do you remember a name?”

“Let me think… Can’t you just look it up?”

“Ms. Decker, it’s not as though the LAPD keeps a database of all the psychiatrists in the city and who their patients are. HIPAA laws and all that.”

Chloe frowned, then brightened. “Wait! Now I remember. What was it… Dr. Israel? No… that’s it, Dr. Canaan! I don’t know where his office is, though.”

Lucifer slipped the notepad back into his pocket and stood up. “I do,” he said, his expression grim, and turned and walked away. “Detective!” Chloe called out, but by that time he was through the door and gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, comments welcome. I'd be interested to know if you found Chloe's alternate characterization off-putting.


	3. Breakfast for Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucifer gets a bad feeling, Chloe can't cook, Eve drops by, and Lucifer and Chloe take a road trip.

Lucifer got out of the shower, dried himself, and wrapped a towel around his waist. He’d left two voicemails for Espinoza last night, but got through on the fifth ring this morning. “Yeah,” was the sleepy reply. It was already 7:30, and Lucifer guessed that Espinoza wasn’t a morning person.

“It appears we may have a lead on the Delilah shooting,” Lucifer told him.

“Ah, Jesus… I told you we closed that case.”

“Yes, and you also told me to talk to the club owner.”

“So what did the bitch have to say?”

Lucifer physically recoiled from the phone, then continued after a minute. “She was actually quite helpful. I think we should go out this morning and talk to a psychiatrist Delilah had been seeing. A Dr. Canaan.”

There was a pause on the other end. “Sorry, pal, you take care of it. We’re planning for a big drug haul we’re taking down next week.” Another pause. “Lots of money involved. Know what I mean?”

Lucifer briefly wondered why a Homicide detective would be involved in something that was normally Vice’s bailiwick. “I’ll look into Dr. Canaan and report back to you,” Lucifer said, and disconnected the call.

He sat on the bed, contemplating how he would approach “Dr. Canaan.” His brother Amenadiel, suffering from the conceit that he was Father’s favorite son, had decided that his true calling was to accumulate as much knowledge about humans as he could so he could tell Father how His creation was coming along. And what better way to do that than by learning their innermost secrets? The guise of a psychiatrist was perfect. Or at least, that’s what Amenadiel had figured. Lucifer had warned him that listening to the problems of people in Los Angeles was going to give him a seriously skewed view of humanity, and after two years of it, Amenadiel confessed to Lucifer that he was afraid to report back to Father. “These people are really messed up!” he’d said emphatically.

And just as Lucifer was contemplating his strategy, he realized that someone was in his kitchen.

He tugged the towel around his midriff and proceeded lightly down the stairs. He wasn’t afraid of who was there – one of the benefits of immortality. But he was curious. Eve didn’t usually come around this early, and the cleaning people weren’t due for another two days.

The last person he expected to see was Chloe Decker.

“Good morning, Detective. I was going to make us some break –” she started to say as she turned around. She put the pan down and just stared. He was perfect. If he’d been around in Michaelangelo’s time, the sculpture would have been named “Lucifer” instead of “David.” She prayed to a God she didn’t believe in for him to drop the towel.

“What in bloody hell are you doing here?” he barked.

She gave him her most alluring smile and toyed at the hem of her floral print sundress, which ended at midthigh, looking for the tent in his towel to emerge. Nothing. She sighed. What was going on here? Was this thing broken? “I told you, I thought I’d make breakfast for us before we go see Dr. Canaan. By the way, do you always keep your door unlocked?”

“’We’?” was all he could manage. He walked over to her, being careful to keep a discreet distance between them. He remembered his training at the academy about what constituted stalking, and mentally checked several of the boxes. “What makes you think ‘we’ are going anywhere?”

Chloe put the pan on the stove and set the burner to medium-high heat. Which pretty much matched her setting, she had to admit. “Look, you want to catch this killer, I want to catch this killer. Dr. Canaan might have some information for us. He might not want to share it –” she’d looked up some stuff on HIPAA regulations last night after their conversation “— but I’m pretty good at getting people to tell me things. Especially men.” She gave a delicious wiggle of her hips. 

Lucifer thought about it for a moment. His set of skills certainly wouldn’t work on his brother. Amenadiel had always come across as sexually repressed, though, and maybe he would respond to Chloe’s … mojo, or whatever. Lucifer had to admit that the only thing keeping him from bending this woman over the counter and ruining her was his dedication to finding Delilah’s killer.

“All right, fine, you can come along. But please get out of my kitchen. Have you ever made a meal in your life?”

“Well… I figured scrambled eggs would be okay.”

“First, the pan’s too hot. You want medium low heat.” He peered into the bowl containing the eggs. “Second, I’ve found among my circle of acquaintances that they prefer not to have bits of shell in their eggs. My goodness, woman, you might as well dump a vial of poison in there and be done with it.” He poured the eggs into sink. “I’m going to go get dressed, and then I’ll make us breakfast.”

She rummaged through his cupboards while he was upstairs, finally finding a bottle of whiskey. She poured herself a glass and was just finishing it off when she heard his footsteps on the stairs. At the same time, she heard the door open and a high-pitched voice call, “Luce!”

“Morning, Eve,” Lucifer said as he came into the kitchen, followed by a small, gorgeous woman with long, silky black hair and a stunning body. Eve stopped abruptly when she saw Chloe, and if looks could kill, Chloe would be sprawled out on the kitchen floor.

“I’m sorry, Luce, I didn’t realize you had… company.”

“Oh, her,” said Lucifer dismissively, and Chloe felt a little sting. “She’s here to help me on a case.”

Eve smiled at her. “Yes, I can see she’s dressed for it.” She leaned up and gave Lucifer a quick peck on the lips. “I just stopped by on my way to school.” She kissed him again, lingering this time. “I’ll see you tonight,” she whispered in voice so husky it could have pulled a dog sled. She turned to Chloe, her eyes daggers. “Good luck with your … case.”

As Eve headed out the door, Chloe was gripped by three emotions. One was relief; her type of conversion therapy wasn’t going to be necessary. The second was rejection; if that wasn’t it, Lucifer just didn’t find her attractive.

The third was one she hadn’t felt in forever: jealousy.

* * * * *

“These are _amazing_!” Chloe purred as she put another piece of the omelet in her mouth. “Where did you learn to cook like this?”

“It’s one of my talents,” Lucifer said.

Chloe smiled at him coquettishly. “I’m sure you have others.” For some reason, her heart gave an extra beat when he smiled back at her. “Seriously, you are really good. The way you chopped up those peppers and onions, I can’t believe you didn’t cut yourself.”

She swallowed another bite, then did her best to sound nonchalant when she asked, “So what’s the story with Eve?”

“Well, think of us as high school sweethearts, I guess you’d say. Then a month or so ago, it was as though she reappeared out of thin air. So we’ve picked up again.”

“She seems nice,” Chloe probed.

Lucifer patted the napkin around his mouth, then placed it on his empty plate. Chloe braced herself for a paeon to Eve’s wonderful qualities. _Please don’t talk about sex with her_ , she silently pleaded, for reasons she did not at all understand.

“Yes, she does,” was all Lucifer said.

* * * * *

The drive to Dr. Canaan’s office took thirty minutes. Chloe loved the way her hair blew with the convertible top down. “Nice car,” she said.

“It belonged to a drug dealer. I bought it at a police auction for a fraction of the price.”

It still didn’t add up. “You’ve got a really nice place, too.” And that sharp navy blue, custom-tailored suit didn’t look like it was part of a buy-two, get-three bargain at Jos. E. Banks.

Lucifer smiled. “Why Ms. Decker, are you playing cop?”

Chloe patted his arm. “No, I just like to play. How about you, Detective?”

Lucifer laughed. “Well, if you must know, I came into a bit of money a while back.”

“Inherited it from your folks?” She'd had Maze check him out, and there was no mention of living parents.

Lucifer’s face went from smile to grimace in a nanosecond. “’Fraid not. Really don’t like to talk about them. Especially my Dad.”

Chloe was silent for several minutes. “Mine died,” she said, her voice small.

Lucifer let out a long sigh. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.” Another silence. “He must have cared about you a great deal.”

She brushed away a tear. “Why do you say that?”

“You sounded sad when you said he died, and you’re crying now.”

“Wow, no wonder you made detective, huh?” Chloe said, the words coming out more bitterly than she intended. She sniffled. “He did. That’s what a father’s supposed to do.”

“Not everybody’s father,” said Lucifer quietly. “When did it happen?”

“I was 18. He was a cop. Robbery went sideways.” She stared out the side. “I guess that’s why I kept up with the acting, did the _Weaponizer_ thing. Figured I couldn’t be a cop, so I’d play one.”

“You don’t seem to have a very high opinion of the police, given that your father was a cop.” Lucifer knew that was understandable; the LAPD did not exactly have a sterling reputation.

Chloe shook her head. “Well, you wouldn’t have a very high opinion of the police, either, if you knew all the times they tried to shake me down over LUX. Your partner isn’t exactly one of a kind.”

Lucifer’s impression of his partner was also tending toward unfavorable. “Well, anyway, you did a very good job with the _Weaponizer_ thing. Loved those movies.” The smile came back to his eyes. “Although in truth, as far as your _oeuvre_ is concerned, I think _Hot Tub High School_ was my favorite.”

“Detective! I didn’t know you were a dirty old man!” She turned to him. “You really saw that one?”

“More than once.”

“Oh, God!” She noticed his smile tighten, then relax. “That’s so unfair.”

“What’s unfair?”

“You’ve seen me naked. Well, mostly. And I haven’t seen you naked.”

Lucifer grinned. “Mostly.”

Chloe couldn’t understand how the inside of the car could’ve gotten so hot with the top down. “Anyway,” she looked at him and smiled brightly, “I’m glad you like my … _body_ of work.” They both laughed.

“By the way,” Lucifer said. “Would you mind telling me how you found my condo?”

“Maze. That’s the woman who took you up to meet me. She’s real good at that. She’s sort of my personal Rolodex.”

Lucifer rolled his eyes. “A Rolodex has information that you already know about someone.”

Chloe shrugged. “Well, then I guess she’s my personal Google Maps.”

They laughed again, and Chloe felt better than she had in quite a while.

They pulled into the underground parking lot of “Dr. Canaan’s” building five minutes later. “This is it?” Chloe asked.

“Yes. Why?”

“It’s just weird. This is the office building for my therapist, too.”

Lucifer seemed taken aback. “You’re in therapy?”

She looked at him as if he’d just asked her in what direction the sun rose. “This is LA. Aren’t you?”


	4. Therapists

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our dynamic duo has a chat with Dr. Canaan, there's some rough stuff, and Chloe talks with Dr. Linda.

Lucifer had decided not to call Amenadiel beforehand, preferring a face-to-face conversation. “Brother!” boomed Amenadiel as he opened the door to his office. “Uh, Detective,” he corrected himself when he spied Chloe. She scrunched up her face and looked at the two of them, then smiled demurely at Amenadiel and said, “I’m Chloe Decker. I’m with Detective Morningstar.”

“Oh, sort of a ride-along?”

She gave Lucifer a flirty smile. “If only.” She turned back to Amenadiel. “Do you mind if I get a cup of coffee?”

“Of course,” he said, pointing to the Keurig machine on the table in the corner of the waiting room. As Chloe went off to fetch her coffee, Amenadiel dragged Lucifer into the office.

“Lucifer,” he whispered hotly. “You know I don’t do couples counseling anymore!” He’d stopped after about six months of that, realizing that if he told Father what he’d learned in those sessions it would be Flood Time again.

“Relax, Brother. It’s not about that. We’re working on a case.”

“What kind of case? A prostitution sting and she’s the bait?”

Amenadiel retreated to his desk as he heard Chloe approaching. Lucifer plopped down on one end of the couch, Chloe on the other, as Amenadiel sat in his chair. 

“So the reason we’re here, Dr. Cannan,” said Lucifer. “We understand that you were seeing Delilah Barnes, and we wanted to find out what she told you.”

Amenadiel laughed. “Lu – Detective, you know that’s confidential. I can’t talk about my sessions with her.”

“Oh, Doctor,” Chloe said. “We could really use your help.”

Amenadiel shook his head. “I’m sorry, I’d like to help you, but I can’t.”

Chloe stretched, the swell of her breasts pressing against the top of her sundress, then sat up a little and shifted so she could tuck her feet underneath her. She let her dress slide farther up her thigh, never taking her eyes off Amenadiel. Lucifer felt relief for bringing her along, and sympathy for his brother; the woman’s legs went on for days.

Chloe perched the tip of her tongue at one corner of her mouth. Amenadiel was a mouth breather, and tiny beads of sweat formed on his forehead. _Still got it_ , she thought, stealing a quick glance at Lucifer. 

“Are you sure you can’t help us, Dr. Canaan?” Chloe asked, her voice pure silk. She stirred her coffee, then put the spoon in her mouth upside down, her tongue delicately licking the bowl. “Anything you could tell us would be very much appreciated. _Very_ much appreciated.” She put the spoon back in her mouth, closing her eyes and giving a contented sigh as she slipped it to the back of her tongue, then ever so slowly drew it out. 

Lucifer closed his eyes and looked away. _Have to punish, have to punish_ , he silently repeated like a mantra in an effort to stop his trousers from tightening.

And poor Amenadiel. In an irony not of the Alanis Morissette variety, time had apparently stopped for him: he could do nothing but gape at Chloe.

Lucifer rescued him. “So like we said, we’re just trying to solve Delilah’s murder. Obviously, we’re not going to reveal anything you tell us. We’ll keep your confidences… confidential.”

Amenadiel tried desperately, and unsuccessfully, to avert his eyes from Chloe. “It had to do with her brother Jimmy,” he finally blurted.

“How so?”

“He was an accountant, and he’d apparently gotten mixed up with some bad people.”

“What kind of bad people?” Chloe interjected.

“She didn’t say. Apparently, the police found out and were pressuring him. He was pretty conflicted about it, and she was worried. That’s about all I know.”

Lucifer rose from the couch, and so did Chloe, although her moves were slow and feline. “Thank you so much, Dr. Canaan,” she purred. “I hope we’ll see each other again.” Amenadiel could manage no more than a nod.

“Why did he call you ‘brother’ at first?” asked Chloe as they made their way down to the parking lot.

“Oh, black people do that a lot,” replied Lucifer, choosing his words carefully.

“Yeah, to other black people.” Things weren’t adding up here, she thought as they approached the Corvette.

The two thugs who popped out from behind the adjacent cars made three mistakes. The first was getting anywhere near Lucifer. Chloe saw the one knock Lucifer down and bend over him with a raised crow bar, and the next thing she knew the man was flying through the air, smashing into a car parked a good twenty feet away. 

The second thug made two mistakes. The first was thinking that he’d have no problem dealing with a woman. The second was wrapping his arm around Chloe’s neck from behind, giving her leverage. She responded instinctively, smashing one hand into the man’s testicles and stomping her foot on his instep, then grabbing his arm and pulling it as she hunched over. He went flying over her, landing on the concrete with a sickening crunch, his head lolling to the side.

But Chloe made a mistake, too: she recognized too late that there were three of them, and the last was ten feet away, with a gun pointing directly at her.

It was true, Chloe realized, that your life flashes before your eyes just before death. Mostly it was images of her as a child, with her father at the beach, at the playground, reading to her in bed. As she saw the man pull the trigger, the last image she had was the day her father said goodbye to her in the morning and never came back.

She heard two shots, but suddenly Lucifer was in front of her. He was on the shooter in a heartbeat, grabbing him by the throat and holding him off the ground, pinning him to a pillar. “Who sent you!” Lucifer demanded as the man’s eyes widened. “Who sent you!” Chloe glanced at the side view mirror on a car across the way and caught a brief glimpse of Lucifer’s face. No, it wasn’t Lucifer’s face, she realized. Just a flash of something red…

Lucifer released the man, and he crumpled to the ground. Chloe could see the wet spot on the front of his pants the same time the smell of urine hit her. He curled into a fetal ball as Lucifer crouched over him. “No, please, I’ll tell you! Please, just… don’t!” pleaded the man, desperately trying to turn his face away from Lucifer.

“Who sent you?” Lucifer demanded a final time, in a voice that sounded inhuman.

“The… the Sinnerman,” the man gasped.

“You ever hear of ‘the Sinnerman’?” said Chloe, as the officers who’d responded to Lucifer’s call trundled the trio of hoodlums into waiting cruisers. 

Lucifer shook his head, then looked at her admiringly. “You handled yourself there surprisingly well, Ms. Decker.”

Chloe’s cheeks flushed slightly. “I did all my own stunts in the _Weaponizer_ series. I still work out. And a police officer gave me training in self-defense.”

“You dated a cop? Doesn’t sound like you, Ms. Decker.”

“I don’t date, Detective.” Her expression turned inquisitive. “And I still don’t know how you got in front of me so fast. I swear I saw him pull the trigger, but suddenly you were right there.” 

Lucifer’s only response was to nod. It was a good thing Amenadiel had been within the necessary distance to work his magic.

“And I’ll tell you the name of my gym if you tell me the name of yours,” Chloe continued. “I have no idea how you threw that one guy twenty feet. And the other one had to weigh two hundred pounds. You know the guy I mean? The one you held up off the ground with one hand?”

Chloe’s eyes narrowed. “And that’s one helluva bulletproof vest you’ve got on. I can’t imagine how you got it to fit under your suit. And usually, the bullet won’t kill you, but it will at least knock you down.”

Chloe waited for an answer. Lucifer smiled and said, “Isn’t modern technology grand?” He thought a minute more, “What I’m trying to fathom is how they knew we’d be here. You didn’t tell anyone, did you?”

“Just Maze.”

“And the only one I told was…” He turned to her. She stared back at him. “Your partner,” she finished.

Lucifer directed one of the unis to drive her back to LUX. “Thank you very much, Ms. Decker, it was a pleasure meeting you. I’ll keep you informed on the progress of the case.” He shook her hand, then tucked her into the police car before she had a chance to respond.

Chloe had the car stop before it left the parking lot. She thought she might as well kill two birds with one stone – and in light of recent events, she decided that metaphor wasn’t really appropriate – so she figured she’d stop in and see her own shrink. There was no one in the waiting room, and the light under the nameplate “Dr. Linda Martin” was off, so Chloe knocked on the door.

Linda opened it, smiled warmly, and greeted Chloe effusively. The two hugged, and Linda asked, “Is this a social call?”

Chloe shrugged and replied, “Oh, yeah, probably, I mean, yeah, I guess....”

Linda looked at her a moment longer. “And we’re sitting,” she said, beckoning Chloe to take a seat on the couch while Linda settled in the chair across from her.

Chloe started. “So how’s Trixie doing?”

Linda beamed. “Do you know she’ll be seven years old next month?”

“Already? Can I come to the party?”

“Are you kidding?” Linda laughed. “She’s constantly asking when Auntie Chloe’s coming to visit!”

That tugged on Chloe’s heartstrings. Linda always referred to Trixie as her “Miracle Baby.” She and Reese had stopped even trying to get Linda pregnant, and then all of a sudden… Linda had a tough time of it after Reese committed suicide three years ago. Chloe had tried to help as best she could. She never cared for children, and certainly had no desire to have one herself, but she’d formed a special bond with Trixie. 

“So, what’s new in your life?” Linda asked.

It was Chloe’s turn to beam. “Oh, I actually got to play cop! There’s this detective I’m working with, just met him last night, let me tell you, Linda, he’s _gorgeous,_ and we went out to interview a witness today, and we got into a fight and I almost got _shot_ –”

“Wait, _what?_ ” Linda cut in, alarmed.

“Oh, it was okay, the detective, his name’s Lucifer –”

“Like the Devil?”

“Exactly! So anyway, Lucifer saved me, but I took out one of the crooks all by myself. It was really cool!”

Linda shifted in her seat. “Tell me more about this detective.”

“Oh, like I said, he’s incredibly _hot_ , tall, dresses like he just stepped out of a fashion shoot for GQ, even has a British accent, can you believe?”

“And he’s a detective for the LAPD?” Linda asked incredulously.

“Yeah, like, I _know_. And there are some other things about him that are…”

“Are what?”

“I don’t know, it’s hard to explain. But I just had so much _fun_!”

Linda glanced out the window, then turned her attention back to Chloe. “You know, this is the most excited I’ve seen you be about something in a long while,” she finally said. “Or someone.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoying the comments. And no, Chloe and Amenadiel aren't going to have sex. Like, ever. I may have a weird imagination, but I'm not sick.


	5. Chloe Decker, Civilian Consultant

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We find out about Palmetto Street, and Chloe gets a job.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter starts out with some serious smut, so if you're not into that, skip the first two paragraphs. Still enjoying the comments. Nothing until this weekend, but we've got some good character fluff coming up.

She was on fire. He’d barely had time to slide his finger across her wet folds when she’d reached down, tugged him up to her, and panted, “Inside me… now…” She took all of him effortlessly, and grabbed his ass to pull him deep into her as she bucked up against him with each thrust. Within minutes she was pleading with him to fuck her harder and screaming that she was coming, arching up off the bed to take every inch of him and hold him there, her legs trembling in the throes of her orgasm.

As soon as it left her, she wanted more, flipping him over onto his back and straddling him. She bent back, reaching behind her and resting her hands on his thighs, giving him unfettered access to her clit as she rode him. He made the most of it, and she came again, the force of her climax jolting her forward on top of him. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight as he thrust up into her. Her final orgasm took a little longer, and when it had ebbed, she dismounted him and hurried down his body to take his cock in her mouth. By the time he came hot and thick across her tongue, he had to admit that, super stamina or not, he was near the point of exhaustion.

She fell back and curled up next to him. “Oh, Luce, this just keeps getting better and better.” Lucifer stroked her silky hair. “That was nice,” he finally murmured.

Eve absently ran her fingers over his chest. “You should be like this more often.”

“Like how?”

“Like the fun Lucifer I used to know. All this detective stuff, I really don’t understand why you’re doing that.”

“Because there are people who need to be punished,” he said after a while.

Eve turned to face him. “But you didn’t used to be like that when we first met.”

“Back then, there wasn’t anybody to punish. Except for your wayward son, and Father took care of that.” He lay back. “Now, there are.”

“Do you still have that case with that woman?” Eve said after a while.

Lucifer chuckled. “Yes, I still have that case, but don’t worry about the woman. I needed her to talk to a witness, but she won’t be around anymore.”

Eve placed her hand on his cheek and turned his face toward her. “Oh, I wasn’t worried, Luce,” she said, the malevolent tone in her voice barely discernible. Her hand drifted back onto his chest, then worked its way down his abdomen. “And I still think you should try to have more fun.” 

They had sex three more times that night. Eve was finally sated, and drifted off to sleep. She was quiet, which Lucifer appreciated, but part of him realized that it was not necessarily a good thing if someone asks you what you like about your girlfriend and the first thought that comes to mind is that she doesn’t snore. It was a while until he fell asleep, his last conscious thought of a woman in a floral print sundress.

* * * * *

Espinoza gave a quick scan around the bar as he sat down. It was mostly empty. Still, his voice was barely more than a whisper when he turned to the man next to him. “Jesus, what kind of people do you have working for you anymore? First they shoot the wrong person, and then… Look, I can cover if a civilian gets whacked, but your guy almost killed a fucking detective! And if that happens, cops are going to be crawling so far up our ass we’re going to be tasting hair gel.”

Pierce’s expression never changed during Espinoza’s tirade. “It’ll be taken care of,” he said, when Espinoza finished.

“Yeah, but even if you bond him out, what if –”

“It will be taken care of,” Pierce repeated in the same dull tone, but with his eyes narrowing. “I thought you’d closed out that shooting at LUX?”

“So did I. Lucky I knew it was going down, so I was on the scene before anyone else. Good thing that dipshit you hired wasn’t any better at driving than he was at shooting. Figured that planting the drugs on him and the bitch would do the trick, but then this Morningstar character pops up. Shouldn’t have told him to go talk to that club owner.”

“No, you shouldn’t have,” said Pierce evenly. “What do you think he knows?”

“I thought that’s what your people were supposed to find out.” Pierce just stared back at him. “Nothing much,” Espinoza finally said. “We broke into Canaan’s office tonight, and the only thing in his file about the Barnes woman is that her brother was getting pressured by the cops, and we already knew that.”

“Yeah, but he didn’t,” Pierce replied. “Now, what’s the story with the drug deal?”

“There’s a warehouse on Palmetto where it’s supposed to go down. I’ve got some guys I work with, and we’ll handle it.”

“This has to be done. If we’re going to take over that section of the city, we’ve got to put that gang out of business. Losing thirty kilos of the cartel’s product will do it. But no hiccups. Understand? And make sure you take care of everybody.”

“Oh, don’t worry. There’s going to be a ‘gun battle.’” Espinoza grinned, but then took on a more serious expression. “But you gotta take care of that Barnes guy. He knows about me, and that means he knows way too much.”

Pierce nodded, his expression unchanged.

* * * * *

A police precinct is a loud place, especially right after morning roll call. It didn’t bother Lucifer; he didn’t even notice it while he worked on his reports. What he did notice was when the noise stopped. He glanced around, and everybody was looking at the stairs. Lucifer couldn’t see them from his vantage point, but the object of everyone’s attention became clear when she turned the corner.

Chloe’s blonde hair was tied up in a soft bun, with tendrils caressing both sides of her face. She was wearing a white silk blouse and a pair of black jeans that hugged her perfectly. The boots with the three-inch heels accentuated her legs, as if they needed to.

She smiled warmly and sat down at his desk. Lucifer cleared his throat. “What can I do for you, Ms. Decker.”

She turned the smile up a notch higher, and Lucifer was aware that every eye in the precinct was trained on them. “You told me you’d keep me informed of the progress of the investigation, so I figured I’d come by so you could inform me of the progress of the investigation.”

“Ms. Decker –”

She placed her elbows on the desk and leaned forward, and Lucifer noticed that the top two buttons of her blouse were open, affording him a bare glimpse of the lacy black bra underneath. “Chloe,” she said.

“Chlo – Ms. Decker, it is not the custom of the Los Angeles Police Department to share details of an ongoing investigation with the public.”

“Well, I happen to know something that you don’t.”

“What is it?”

She gave him a 1000-watt smile and flicked the tip of her tongue across her lower lip. “I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.”

“That’s not –”

_“MORNINGSTAR!”_ the lieutenant bellowed, standing at the doorway to his office. “In here! Now!”

Lucifer glared at Chloe as he stood up, turned, and walked into the lieutenant’s office. He took a seat across the desk from the man, who was clearly fuming. “I guess they didn’t explain this to you when you made detective, Morningstar, but you’re at a police precinct, not a wedding with a plus one.” 

“I’m sorry, Lieutenant. I’m working on the shooting at LUX, as my partner instructed, and she’s simply a witness who is providing some information.”

“A witness, huh? Well, we don’t have many ‘witnesses’ come in her who give half the guys in the precinct wood. And the way she’s looking at you, there’s not going to be anything left of you when she gets done.” The lieutenant had read Lucifer’s report from yesterday. “Is that the woman you almost got killed yesterday?”

The door opened, and both Lucifer and the lieutenant stared in astonishment as Chloe confidently glided into the room. She leaned over and shook the lieutenant’s hand. “Chloe Decker,” she said, and took the seat next to Lucifer. 

“Ms. Decker,” the lieutenant stammered, “This really isn’t –”

“Detective Morningstar didn’t almost get me killed yesterday,” Chloe interrupted. “In fact, he saved my life. I’ve only been working with him for two days, but I can tell you he’s an excellent detective.” She turned to Lucifer and gave him the once over. “He really is one of LAPD’s finest.”

“ _Working_ with him? Ms. Decker, I don’t think you understand –”

Chloe turned to the lieutenant and leaned slightly forward, probably giving him the view that she’d afforded Lucifer a few moments before, Lucifer thought. Within seconds, the lieutenant’s mouth dropped open, and the expression on his face made him look as if he’d been tasered. “Lieutenant,” Chloe said, her voice a sultry whisper, “I was just talking with Mr. Morningstar about some information I came into about the case, and I know he’s been working very _hard_ –” the lieutenant shifted uncomfortably “—on it, and I think between the two of us we can solve it pretty quickly. I know it’s still in the news, so that would be a good thing, wouldn’t it? For you?”

Chloe sat back. After a minute, the lieutenant’s face took on a “what the fuck just happened?” look. “Yeah, whatever,” he said, nodding blankly. Chloe and Lucifer took that as sign to leave the room, which they quickly did.

Lucifer stared at her when they got back to his desk. “Does that thing always work?”

Chloe gave an eyeroll. “Not on you, you freak. Anyway, since you saved my life, it means I owe you, so I’m going to follow you around and be at your beck and call.”

“In Los Angeles, they call that stalking.”

Chloe laughed. “They call that stalking _everywhere_ , Detective.”


	6. Dead Men Tell No Tales

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The investigation hits a roadblock, as the mystery of where Jimmy Barnes is deepens. Lucifer wonders what kind of person Chloe really is, and a body drops.

“Okay, you first,” Chloe said.

Lucifer opened the file. “The name of the man who shot at you was Marco Reynolds. He’s being brought over now, and I have to interview him.”

“Why didn’t you do it yesterday?”

“He had to be sedated, I’m afraid.”

“Gee, I wonder why.” Chloe stared at him. 

Lucifer ignored the comment. "All we found on him was a burner phone. There was a call on it, but it came from another burner phone, so there was no way to trace it.”

“Can I help with the interview?”

Lucifer smiled policy. “Normally, Ms. Decker, it’s not the policy of the LAPD to seduce suspects into confessing.”

Chloe screwed up her face. “Ewww. That’s disgusting. What I was thinking was that since I’m the one he shot at, maybe you can work that into your questioning.”

“Hmmm,” Lucifer reflected. “That’s actually not a bad idea.” Just then, a couple of uniforms dragged the handcuffed Reynolds from the elevator and took him to the interrogation room. “Ready to go?” said Lucifer.

Chloe beamed.

The first thing Chloe noticed when they came into the room was how desperate Reynolds was to avoid looking at Lucifer. They sat down across from him, and Lucifer said, “Look at me,” his voice little more than a growl. Reynolds cowered even more. “Look. At. Me,” Lucifer repeated, his voice even harsher. Reynolds finally turned and looked at Lucifer, and Chloe had never seen such an expression of abject fear.

“You almost killed this woman, Marco.” Lucifer’s tone was haunting and hypnotic. “I assure you that if you had, things would be much worse for you where you’re going. As it is, how you’ll spend eternity might be improved, at least slightly, if you tell us what you know, and who ordered you to do this.”

Reynolds had just started to open his mouth when the door to the interrogation room swung open and a tall, impeccably dressed blond woman walked through it. “He won’t be answering any of your questions, I’m afraid.” She plopped some papers down on the desk, then noticed Chloe. “Chloe! What are you doing here?”

“Kind of a long story, Charlotte. Maybe you should ask your client why he tried to kill me.”

Charlotte raised her eyebrows, just as Lucifer reached over and extended a hand. “Detective Lucifer Morningstar. Pleased to meet you,” he said, his tone pleasant but with just a hint of distaste.

“Charlotte Richards. The same.” Charlotte looked at him harder. “Haven’t I seen you before?”

“I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure,” Lucifer replied, his voice even.

Charlotte walked over, helped Reynolds stand up, and led him out of the interrogation room. Reynolds made sure to keep Charlotte between him and Lucifer.

“So what just happened?” asked Chloe when they’d left.

Lucifer picked up the papers that Charlotte had left. “Somebody posted his bond.” He studied the papers more carefully. “Cain Enterprises, it appears.” 

They retreated to his desk. “How about the other two, did you get anything from them?” asked Chloe.

Lucifer shook his head as he sat down. “No, they were just muscle that Reynolds calls on from time to time. They didn’t know anything beyond that.”

Chloe leaned over the desk. Lucifer made an effort, mostly successful, to keep his eyes on her face. “Well, I’ve got something,” she said, grinning broadly. “I had Maze check on Jimmy Barnes, and he’s an accountant with Wellman Weinberg. Even got a nice picture of him.”

Lucifer shrugged. “We put that together yesterday. Called the office, he wasn’t there.”

“Well, what you didn’t put together was that he was the guy I saw Delilah with at LUX! And Maze found somebody who says the two of them left together the night of the shooting!”

Lucifer stared into space. “What?” said Chloe after a minute.

“Delilah wasn’t the target. Her brother was.”

Chloe’s eyes grew wide. “That’s it! I never bought that drug deal story.”

“Why not?”

“She’d had her bout with drugs, especially after she became famous, but she cleaned herself up. She told me she’d been eight months sober.”

“Did you not think of telling me that when I came out to see you at LUX?”

She gave a weak smile. “I guess I was too busy trying to seduce you.”

Lucifer shook his head. “Well, I think we need to take a trip to Wellman Weinberg.”

Chloe could tell there was something off as they rode in the car. “I like your beard that way,” she said after a few minutes. “With just a stubble, that looks good.”

More silence.

“You’re not particularly chatty today,” she said.

“Charlotte Richards represents a lot of rather shady people, from what I’ve gathered.”

Chloe nodded. “Yeah, I’ve heard that.”

“She also represents you, doesn’t she?” His voice was like ice.

She turned to him. “You’re really into this right and wrong, punish thing, aren’t you? Why?”

“It’s what I was made to do.”

“What do mean, ‘made to do’?”

Lucifer stared straight ahead. “Trust me, you don’t want to know.”

“Well, maybe I do and maybe I don’t, and yeah, there’s some things I don’t understand. And I know you get off on punishing. But take it out on somebody else, because you know what? I’m not a bad person.”

“You’re not?” he said, but there wasn’t anything accusatory in his voice.

She turned away from him so he wouldn’t see the tear running down her cheek. “Look, my mom left when I was twelve, because she decided she’d rather be an actress than a parent. My father died when I was eighteen, right after I’d made a fool of myself by taking my top off in a stupid movie. It’s been rough, and I’ve done some things that maybe I shouldn’t have. I cheat on my taxes, and I do drugs, and I have lots of sex. But I don’t let people deal drugs in LUX, and I never take advantage of anyone, I’m always upfront about the sex stuff. And I don’t hurt people.” She sniffled. “I’m sorry, maybe it’s not enough for Mr. Self-Righteous here, but I don’t feel guilty for anything I’ve done.”

She turned to him just in time to see the corners of his mouth curl up. “I’m very glad to hear that, Ms. Decker.”

“Lucifer?” He was visibly surprised to hear her use his name. “Can you… can you call me Chloe?” Her voice was small. “I’d like that.”

Lucifer’s smile broadened. “I think I can do that. Chloe.”

The receptionist at Wellman Weinberg confirmed that Jimmy Barnes wasn’t there. “Could we speak to Mr. Wellman?” asked Lucifer.

“He’s not in today,” the woman replied, not even trying to keep the boredom out of her voice.

“How about Mr. Weinberg?”

“I’m sorry, Detective Morningstar, he’s very busy. You’ll have to make an appointment.”

Chloe gently nudged Lucifer aside. “Amy?” she said, glancing at the nameplate on the counter. “Amy, is it?” The woman nodded. “Amy, it _really_ would be helpful if we could talk to Mr. Weinberg. Do you think there’s _any way_ you could arrange that?”

The Look came over Amy’s face halfway through Chloe’s question. “Let me see what I can do,” she said, and quickly walked away.

Lucifer shook his head. “I’ve got to hand it to you, Ms. – Chloe. That works on women, too?”

“Oh, it works on just about everybody.” She scrunched up her nose. “ _Just about_ everybody. But I only use it when I need someone to do something. It may be hard to believe, but I don’t really need it for sex.”

Lucifer didn’t find that at all hard to believe.

Amy returned in a minute. “Mr. Weinberg can see you now,” and without further ado, guided them down the hall and ushered them into Weinberg’s office.

“I’m Detective Lucifer Morningstar, Mr. Weinberg, and this is my … partner, Chloe Decker.”

Weinberg looked askance first at Lucifer, then at Chloe. Lucifer realized that this would be a bit much for him to take in.

“What can I do for you?” he finally asked.

“We’re trying to find one of your employees, Jimmy Barnes.”

“Good luck with that. Haven’t seen or heard from him in three days. Called him, texted him, emailed him, nothing. No idea where he is, which is unusual. He’s always been very reliable, and his going missing has hurt us badly. He was handling our biggest client, and they pulled the account just yesterday.”

“Who’s the client?” Lucifer asked, knowing the answer before it was given.

“Cain Enterprises. He handled everything for them. Accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll…”

“Would you mind if we looked at that?”

“When they pulled their account, they took all their files. We have copies, of course.” He reached over and pressed the intercom button on his phone, then dialed three numbers. “Rachael? Could you pull up the stuff on the Cain Enterprise account and print it out?” Weinberg hung up the phone. “That’ll take a while. File’s huge. We can courier it over to you, or you can come pick it up later.” 

The phone buzzed, and he picked it up. “What?!” He said into the phone, then looked at the two of them. “I don’t know what happened, but the file’s been deleted.”

“Well, that was a big zero,” Chloe muttered on the drive back.

Lucifer nodded. “We’re going to have to find Jimmy Barnes. That’s essential."

The car radio squawked. “Hey, Morningstar.” It was the desk sergeant. “Body just dropped over by the pier. Lieutenant wants you to handle it, since you’re over that way. I’ll text you the address.”

Lucifer turned to Chloe. “I’ll take you back to the station first.”

“No, I’ll come along. We’re partners, after all,” she teased.

“This could be rough. Have you ever seen a dead body before?”

“I saw Delilah’s,” Chloe said, after a minute.

Lucifer pulled the car into a field some distance from the pier. There were already two cruisers on the scene, and the coroner’s van. Lucifer and Chloe walked down the path and ducked under the police tape. “Body’s down there,” a short unsmiling woman with a bright yellow “Medical Examiner” on her jacket said tonelessly, pointing to a form covered by a blanket twenty feet away. “Two shots, back of the head. Fouling and stippling, so it was close range. Hope you haven’t had anything to eat recently.”

“Wasn’t she a cheery one?” said Lucifer as he and Chloe walked over to the body. Lucifer kneeled down and pulled back the blanket. Most of the face was gone, but there was just enough to tell that it was Marco Reynolds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we had some character fluff, but we've gotten more into the procedural aspect and slacked off on the supernatural stuff. As Sam and Dave could have said, "Hold on, it's coming." Maybe a chapter or two from now.
> 
> If you've got comments about how the relationship between Lucifer and Chloe is progressing (or isn't), I'd love to hear them.


	7. Knives Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe wants to get laid, Maze wants Chloe to get laid so she can get laid, and Dan... well, Dan's just a dick.

Chloe looked out at the dance floor at LUX and was surprised to see Lucifer. She watched while he made his way over to the bar. She saw the way women (and some men) looked at him, the way some reached out to touch him, talk with him as he went by. She would have felt jealousy for the second time in two days, but she noticed he didn’t linger with any of them, giving none more than a pleasant but tight smile.

“What are _you_ doing here!” she said, trying too late to minimize the elation in her voice, when he leaned on the bar, next to her.

He’d driven her back to LUX after they’d found Reynolds’ body, explaining that the afternoon would be spent in paperwork on that killing. Seeing the body had hit her hard, and she offered no protest. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay,” Lucifer said, giving her the most genuine smile she’d seen from him. 

“That –” The words caught in her throat. “That was sweet.” She basked in his smile a minute longer. “You want a drink? Oh, that’s right, you don’t drink when you’re in Punishment Mode.” 

The smile never left his face, and she could feel herself getting warm. “I might be persuaded to have one. Whiskey, neat.” Chloe turned, nodded to Patrick, and the glass was in front of Lucifer in seconds, and another one for Chloe.

She gently swirled the liquor with her finger. “No, I’m okay. It was a little… rough. I mean, like I said, I saw Delilah’s body, but it wasn’t…” Lucifer had seen the pictures. Delilah had taken two shots to the body, but other than the blood splatter, she could have been sleeping.

“No, it wasn’t like that,” Lucifer finished, and took a sip of whiskey.

“So what’s the plan for tomorrow?” Chloe said, realizing that she was trying to change the subject from one murder to another. Was that her life now?

“Well, we’re waiting for the forensic reports on Reynolds, although I doubt we’ll find anything there. Already talked to the medical examiner, Ella Lopez, I think. Heavens, what a dreary woman! Can’t remember the last time I met someone so devoid of any personality. Then again, if I had to cut up bodies all day, I doubt I’d be Mr. Sunshine, either. Anyway, Barnes has an uncle in Irvine, so we’ll head down there to see if he has any ideas where Barnes could be.”

“Can I come along?”

Lucifer’s smile deepened. “Of course. I said ‘we,’ didn’t I? You’re my partner, right?”

Chloe reached out and touched his arm, and was both surprised and happy when he didn’t move it away. “Yep. To partners.” She raised her glass, and he clinked his against it.

They looked out at the dance floor again, and it seemed that they were both searching for words. Chloe found hers first.

“Lucifer?”

“Yes?”

“Why won’t you sleep with me?”

He turned to her, an eyebrow raised. “My, we’re the shy one, aren’t we?”

She didn’t back down an inch. “I’m used to saying what I want.”

“And getting what you want, too, I’d surmise.”

“Yes, I am. I don’t know, maybe you don’t find me attractive…” she fished.

And reeled him in. “I think you’re beautiful.”

“Well then, what is it? I mean, I know at first it was this case, and maybe it still is…”

He chuckled. “Why do you want to sleep with me, Chloe?”

“I told you. You’re an attractive man, and… I like sleeping with attractive men.”

“Ah, another notch on your bedpost, is that it?”

Chloe blushed. “No, it’s… I’m sorry, that sounded stupid.” She gazed up at him. “It’s just that I like you, I guess.”

“You’ve know me three days and you’ve decided you like me?”

Her face hardened. “Look, to get where I am I’ve had to be a real good judge of people. And yeah, you can be mean to people, really mean, but you’re mean to the right people. And you’ve always been nice to me, you saved my life, you came out here to make sure I was okay.” She giggled. “You even forgave me for trying to poison you at breakfast.”

He laughed and shook his head. “Chloe, I like you, too. I’m not going to sleep with you for two reasons. First, it would mean lying to Eve, one way or the other, and I don’t lie. I make that a point of pride.” 

After a minute’s silence, she asked, “What’s the second reason?”

The smile left his face. “You _don’t_ know me. There’s another side to me, Chloe, a monstrous side, that you haven’t seen.” He gave her a look she found profoundly sad. “Just believe that when I tell you.” He gulped down the rest of his drink, turned, and walked away.

Lucifer got back the condo by eight and settled down on the couch to read a book. It was Eve’s night to teach, so Lucifer knew it wasn’t her when the door of his condo was flung open. Besides, Eve didn’t fling doors open.

“Good evening, Mazikeen,” Lucifer said without looking up from the book.

She strode into the room, wearing one of her new leather outfits, although Lucifer confessed that he was experiencing greater difficulty in telling which leather outfits Maze wore were new, and which weren’t. But they were all leather outfits.

She stopped six foot away and glared at him. “Will you just fuck her already?”

“Who are we talking about, Maze?” he asked, pretending not to know.

“Decker, who do you think?”

“And why, Maze, to use your delicate phrasing, should I ‘fuck’ Ms. Decker?”

“Lucifer, do you know why I wanted to follow you up here from Hell?”

“Actually, I did wonder a bit why Hell’s greatest torturer would want to leave.”

“Well, Hell’s greatest torturer also loves sex.”

“You were having plenty of sex in Hell.”

Maze glared at him. “Yes, and the key words are ‘in Hell.’ You know what it’s like to have sex with a demon? There’s no comparison to having sex with a human. At least I don’t have to worry about a human killing me afterwards. And don’t even get me started on screwing humans down there. Ever try to fuck somebody who’s crying? Really kills the mood, let me tell you.”

“So your point is…”

“You’re cockblocking me. And cunt-blocking, too. Ever since Decker met you, she’s been moping around like a moonstruck teenager whose boyfriend broke up with her two weeks before the prom. Do you know what she did tonight? She cancelled the Saturday orgy!”

“The horror. Whatever will you do?”

“Well, I know what you need to do. You need to bone her so she can get you out of her system, and we can all go back to being sluts. You, too, for that matter. If I see Eve bouncing around one more time or hear that screechy voice, the knives are coming out.” And with that, she was gone.

Dan Espinoza came up to Lucifer after roll call the next morning. It was the first time Lucifer had seen him in three days. “Hey, partner,” Espinoza said loudly, and Lucifer recoiled as Espinoza slapped him on the back. “Wanted to talk to you about that shooting at LUX. Getting anywhere with that?”

Lucifer kept his face blank. “No, we’ve run into a dead end. It may have been that you were right.” _That was the truth, but not the whole truth, so help me Dad._

Espinoza gave him an oily smile. “Some of the guys were telling me that you and that club owner were running around, looking for stuff on the case.”

“Yes, and as I said, that proved unavailing.”

The smile stayed. “Hey, can’t blame you for getting some tail while you’re working a case. She’s a hot little piece of ass. Wouldn’t mind tapping that myself. Bet I could make her squeal.”

Lucifer smiled evenly. “I’ll bet you could.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One of the things I've learned from doing this is how difficult it is to write characters with consistency, especially in an A/U like this. I've had to create whole new personas for Chloe and Lucifer. Obviously, there's a growing connection between them. I'd like to hear whether that sounds realistic and in character for them at this point. Suggestions, criticism welcome. Praise works, too.


	8. Jimmy Barnes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe's competition is thinned, and Jimmy Barnes shows up. The plot thickens.

The trip out to Irvine had been another bust. While Lucifer preferred face-to-face interviews, he’d come to realize the value of a telephone call. Two hours out and back and the only thing they’d learned was that once upon a time the Barnes family had a cabin up in Topanga State Park. That was all the way over on the other side of Los Angeles, and Lucifer made the right decision, a bit late, by calling the rangers station there. They told him that the cabin had been a victim of one of California’s wildfires.

“What are we going to do when this case is over?” Chloe asked as they drove back.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, me. I like doing this. With you.” She paused a minute, then blurted out, “I mean, I don’t care what you say, I don’t think you’re terrible, and I’m sorry I keep trying to get you to sleep with me, and I’ll stop doing that, but this is really fun, and I like hanging out with you.”

He smiled. “Well, I have to admit you’ve proven quite helpful. You’re smart, you’ve got good instincts, and you’ve got some ‘talents,’ shall we say, that have worked to our benefit. Still, I think we’d be hard-pressed to get the lieutenant to keep you on as a…”

“’Civilian consultant.’ That’s what I want to be called.”

“Okay. ‘Civilian consultant,’ it is. But I don’t think the lieutenant would go along with that once this case is over.”

“I don’t think that’ll be a problem. I know the chief of police.”

Lucifer stared at her, eyebrows raised. “You’re going to mojo the chief of police?”

Chloe smiled mischievously. “How do you think I’ve kept LUX open?”

Lucifer just shook his head. Then out of nowhere, he said, “I enjoy working with you, too.”

Chloe reached out and gently stroked his arm. He made no effort to move it.

“So how are things going with Eve?” asked Chloe after a little while.

Lucifer sighed. “I don’t think that’s working out, I’m afraid.”

“No?” said Chloe, trying to sound no more interested than if they were discussing the San Diego weather forecast.

“No. I think she has problems realizing that I’m not the person she used to know.”

“That’s not surprising. I mean, that was back in high school, right? That’s what, like fifteen or twenty years ago?”

“A bit longer, actually.”

“Well, I know that I’ve changed an awful lot since high school. Anyway, I’m sorry to hear that.” Chloe wondered if she’d ever said a more insincere thing in her life.

Lucifer smiled. “It’s odd, in way. She doesn’t _like_ the person I am.” He turned to Chloe, the smile fading. “And you don’t _know_ the person I am.”

Chloe stayed out on the floor at LUX that night, waiting to see if Lucifer showed up. He didn’t, so at eleven she reluctantly headed up to the penthouse.

She heard the mingled moans as soon as she stepped off the elevator. She walked over to see what was going on in the bedroom. Maze was what was going on. There was a girl sprawled in the corner of the bed, completely wrecked, while Maze rode one man and had a large dildo up another man’s ass.

Maze saw her. “Hey, Decker, want to get some?”

Chloe shook her head and went over and sat down on the couch. She pulled on her headphones and started the music. “Siri, skip song,” she said, barely into the first few bars of the one that came on. God, she hated the Bangles.

A half hour later, the two men trudged out of the bedroom, half-carrying the girl between them. The trio looked like German soldiers retreating from the Eastern Front in 1945. Maze followed after a minute, looking like she was ready to do a triathlon.

“Sorry, Decker, didn’t mean to monopolize the bedroom.”

“No problem. You do a lot for me, so my bedroom is your bedroom.” The two shared a smile.

“Thought you might want to join in.”

“Not really in the mood, I’m afraid.”

Maze shook her head and rolled her eyes. “Listen, I need to tell you something. About Morningstar.”

“What? How do you even know him?”

“I used to work for him a while back.” Chloe furrowed her brows. “Let’s just say I was in charge of personnel. Anyway, you need to know that he’s a bad guy.”

“So he keeps telling me.”

“It’s true. Trust me, you wouldn’t believe some of the things he’s done.”

“Like what?”

Maze cocked her head. “Didn’t I just tell you to trust me? Listen, I know every now and then you get an itch for a bad boy, but believe me, this is the ultimate _bad boy_.”

Chloe shrugged. “Look, I appreciate what you’re telling me. But I think this is just something I have to find out for myself.”

Maze stood and glared down at her. “I really hope to hell that you don’t.”

Lucifer stood in the kitchen, leaning on the counter and swirling his glass, the honeyed liquid splashing against the sides. Eve hadn’t taken it well. She’d demanded to know why he couldn’t accept himself for what he was, the old playful Lucifer, the fun Lucifer. She’d refused to accept it when he’d told her that he wasn’t that Lucifer anymore. She’d pleaded with him to quit his job, go to Las Vegas. He had the money, they could spend their days gambling and partying and having sex, she’d allow him to bring women – men, even – into their bed. 

“You’re fucking that woman,” she’d finally screamed, becoming increasingly unhinged. “You’re fucking that little whore from the nightclub!” 

She shrank from him as his eyes blazed red. “Eve! You need to leave! _Now!_ ” 

She looked at him one last time before she walked out the door, and it hurt him. He did care about her, and what he saw in her eyes was pure hatred.

His phone rang, and he hesitated to pick it up. He wanted to talk to Chloe, but he didn’t. One of the reasons for not sleeping with her had just been eliminated. There was still Reason No. 2, but he admitted to himself that his resistance there was crumbling. He’d just have to be strong.

He glanced at the phone. It was a number he didn’t recognize. “Hello?” he answered it.

“Detective Morningstar, this is Special Agent Scott Henderson with the FBI. I didn’t want to call you on your office phone, and I don’t want to meet you at the precinct. There’s a Starbucks about two blocks west of the precinct house.”

“The one on the north side of Burbank, or the one on the south side?”

“South side. Tomorrow morning, 9:00 o’clock. We need to talk.”

“What about?” asked Lucifer.

“Jimmy Barnes.”

Chloe’s phone rang an hour after Maze had left. It was a number she didn’t recognize. “Hello?” she answered.

“Chloe Decker?”

She didn’t recognize the voice, either. “Yes?”

“You were Delilah’s friend?”

“Yes.”

There was a pause on the other end of the line. “This is Jimmy Barnes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We'll be getting more into the police procedural aspect of this in the next several chapters. I've had several comments that for a sexualized individual, Chloe certainly doesn't have much sex. To give you something to look forward to, we'll make up for that on Sunday. Big time, no pun intended.


	9. Special Agent Henderson

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The FBI gets involved in the Sinnerman investigation. Lucifer stops drinking his coffee just long enough to put his foot in his mouth.

Lucifer and Chloe had talked late the night before. They met at the precinct at a quarter to nine. Chloe was wearing a loose t-shirt with the dark leather jacket and black jeans, and had her hair tied up in a ponytail. She was trying to be a little less “enticing,” as Lucifer had put it, but when they left a few minutes later, trying to appear casual, Lucifer knew that every eye in the station was glued to Chloe’s tight ass as she walked up the stairs. Including his.

And she knew it, too.

They had no trouble picking out FBI Special Agent Scott Henderson when he walked in. Lucifer called someone like him American Handsome: About six feet tall, trim muscular build, clean-shaven, with jet-black hair and dark brown eyes. He spotted their table in the corner, walked over, and sat down. “Detective Morningstar?” he said, offering his hand and shaking Lucifer’s while hardly taking his eyes off of Chloe. “And you are?” he said, gently taking Chloe’s hand in his. 

“This is my partner, Chloe Decker,” Lucifer interjected. “She’s a civilian consultant.”

Henderson gave her a smile that could have warmed the place for the month of December. “What do you have to do to get to be a civilian consultant for the LAPD? Besides being drop-dead gorgeous, I mean.”

Lucifer suppressed an urge to gag. “Ms. Decker has numerous talents –”

“I don’t doubt that at all. She certainly looks like she can handle herself." He peered at her more closely. "Hey, haven’t I seen you before?” Chloe blushed and waited for the hammer to drop. “That’s right, _The Weaponizer!_ ” He screwed up his face. “’Not on _my_ watch!’” He and Chloe laughed.

“She was also in –” Lucifer started. It was a good thing he didn’t feel pain, because the kick Chloe applied to his ankle would have hobbled him for days.

“I had no idea that FBI agents were so charming, Agent Henderson,” Chloe purred. 

“You can call me Scott.” 

“Chloe,” she said, smiling demurely. Lucifer noticed she still had her hand in Henderson’s.

Lucifer gave a gentle yank on her arm. “So Agent Henderson, how can we help you? And why are we meeting here?”

Henderson’s expression finally took on a serious mien. “Have you ever heard of the Sinnerman?”

Lucifer nodded. “Just the other day, as a matter of fact. We encountered several lowlifes, one of whom took a shot at Ms. Decker. He told us that he worked for the Sinnerman. He bonded out before we could get more information.”

“Well, we’ll need to talk to him again.”

“That will prove a difficult task, given that he’s dead and all.”

Henderson blinked. “Dead?”

“Yes, sadly for him, someone apparently subscribed to that hoary aphorism about dead men and tales.”

Henderson shook his head. “Here’s the deal. We’ve been investigating the Sinnerman, as he calls himself, for the last three years. He started out in Detroit, moved to Chicago, then out here. Top-notch criminal organization, haven’t been able to touch him.”

“Is he in any way connected to Cain Enterprises?” asked Lucifer.

“We think so. We’re looking for an accountant, Jimmy Barnes, who was supposed to be handling the Cain account. We know you’ve been looking for him, too, and just wanted to find out what you know.”

Lucifer sat back. Cain Enterprises. And then it hit him. It couldn’t be _that_ Cain, could it?

“Why all the secrecy?” asked Chloe.

He leaned forward. “We think there are some people in the LAPD who have been compromised.” He looked at Lucifer. “We’ve checked you out, Detective, and we don’t believe you have been.”

“Oh, he hasn’t, believe me,” Chloe said. “In fact, he’s got this thing, he never lies.” 

Henderson gave Chloe, then Lucifer, a puzzled glance. “Well, anyway, if you can give us what you’ve got, the Bureau would appreciate it. We’ll take over from here, of course.”

“I don’t think so,” said Chloe.

“I’m sorry?”

Lucifer smiled. “Ms. Decker got a call from Barnes last night.”

Henderson grinned broadly. “That’s great! Ms. Decker –” the grin deepened into the bright-wattage smile. “Chloe, if you’ll just give me the phone number –”

“He said he’ll only talk to me. I was friends with his sister, and he trusts me.”

Henderson sat back and spent a minute taking it all in. “So what did he tell you?”

“He says he has something we can use,” Lucifer explained, from what Chloe had told him. “A drive containing all of the financial files of Cain Enterprises. We might be able to show a link between that and this Sinnerman.”

“When can he get this to us?”

Chloe’s turn. “He said he wants to do it tomorrow night. He told me he’d call me tomorrow afternoon and tell me where. He wants me to come alone.”

“I’ve already told her that’s not possible,” Lucifer said. “I simply will not let her go into that kind of situation alone. I told her when he calls tomorrow she’ll just have to explain that to him.”

“Okay,” said Henderson. “I’ll go with Ms. Decker and take a couple of agents with me.”

Chloe shook her head. “No. Lucifer comes with me or it doesn’t happen. I know he won’t let anything happen to me.”

“This is a Federal matter, Ms. Decker.”

“Lucifer comes, or I don’t go. If I don’t go, neither does Barnes. And I know Barnes won’t agree if there’s a lot of people there. He’s worried that the more people, the more chance it gets out.”

Henderson sat back and exhaled slowly. “Okay, fine. You explain to him tomorrow that Morningstar and I are coming with you. We’ll wait for his call.” He leaned forward, the smile back and directed solely at Chloe. He placed his elbows on the table and stretched his hands close to hers. “This is the first time I’ve been in Los Angeles. I guess we really don’t have much to do today, so I’d like to take a look around, but I really don’t know my way…”

“I’d love to show you around, Age – Scott.” Chloe cast a quick glance at Lucifer, then reached out a couple of fingers and gently grazed the top of Henderson’s hand.

“Good. I’ve got to make a few calls. Say I pick you up around noon?”

“That would be perfect. I know a nice little place for lunch. Do you like Mexican?”

“My favorite,” he said as he stood up. “I’ll see you then.”

Chloe and Lucifer dawdled over their coffee after Henderson left. “I broke things off with Eve last night,” Lucifer finally said.

Her ears perked up. “I’m sorry to hear that,” Chloe lied.

“That doesn’t mean I can sleep with you,” Lucifer said, regretting the words even as they came out of his mouth. It confirmed to him again, from his own experiences as well as those of his multitudinous siblings, that being a celestial was no guarantee against doing something stupid.

Chloe’s eyes flashed. “Shocker.”

They sat in silence after that. She wouldn’t even look at him. “Listen, you’re not really going to spend your time with that overstuffed man-ham, are you?” Lucifer asked as they finally got up.

Chloe drank the last of her coffee. Lucifer couldn’t decipher the look on her face. “Do we have anything for me to do today?” she asked. He shook his head. “Then I can’t see any reason why I shouldn’t.”

Lucifer stopped by LUX after work. It was still early, and he had no trouble picking out Chloe by the bar.

“What are you doing here?” she asked when he came over.

“Well, we have this thing with Barnes tomorrow, and I thought we might spend some time talking it through, do some planning.”

“I can’t,” said Chloe, staring into her glass. “I have a date. With Scott.”

Lucifer tried to appear unfazed. “Well, he seems a little old for you. Have to start worrying about performance issues at his age, that sort of thing.”

“Lucifer, he’s 36. You’re probably older than he is.”

“Yes, there’s a good chance of that,” he admitted.

“And I’m not so not going to talk to you about whether somebody is going to have ‘performance issues’ with me.”

“I’m just looking out for you, Chloe.”

“Yeah, right,” she snorted.

“And I thought you didn’t date.”

She turned to him, and there was something in her eye, a trace of spite mingled with a hint of sorrow. “Maybe if they ask.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is Agent Henderson on the up-and-up? Is Chloe flirting with him just to make Lucifer jealous? Or are she and Henderson going to become A Thing? Will the precinct evidence room play into this? Will Samantha find out about Gerard's affair with Monica? Will April keep the baby? All this and more on tomorrow's episode of "Detective Lucifer Morningstar"!


	10. Steps and Missteps

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe knows what she wants, and when wants something, she gets it. Is it what Lucifer wants?
> 
> WARNING: For those of you who have complained that, for a sex-driven character, Chloe doesn't get much sex, well... This chapter is 90% pure smut. For those of you who don't care for that sort of thing, just skip down near the bottom and read the portion after the asterisks. For the rest of you, go on with your bad selves.

Chloe had a very good time with Scott. He proved an excellent companion at dinner, regaling her with some of his war stories at the FBI without monopolizing the conversation, and showing a keen interest when she talked about her life. He was also a connoisseur of fine wines; by the time they got back to his hotel room, the two bottles of merlot they’d finished off gave her the perfect buzz.

He proved a good lover, too. She rode him until she climaxed, then he pulled her off him, rolled her over, and took her from behind. She did most of the work at first, thrusting back on him, but then he took over, pulling her hair and fucking her just rough enough to get her off again. He finished a minute or so after, pulling out and spraying come on her ass.

They lay together for a while, then she got up, cleaned herself up, and got dressed. This is why she’d gone to his room instead of back to LUX; she knew it would be much easier to leave than to kick him out. He suggested an encore performance, and was quite obviously ready for one. She was tempted, but demurred. 

Mainly because when he’d gone down on her, what Chloe kept thinking about was what it would feel like to have Lucifer’s stubble brushing against the insides of her thighs.

Lucifer didn’t need much sleep, and he figured this was a good night to finish off a book on the Roman Empire. Reading history was always problematic for him; there was no substitute for first-hand knowledge. The author tried to paint Cleopatra as a siren, and while Lucifer had appreciated her fondness for snakes, he’d found her a bit too chubby for his tastes. Besides, if there was such a thing as bad head, she gave it.

It was just after two when the door to the condo banged open, then slammed shut. “What is it now, Maze?” called Lucifer without turning around.

“I told you you should get a lock for that fucking door,” Chloe Decker said loudly as she strode into view. She marched right up to him and sat on the couch, straddling him.

Lucifer looked at her, completely shocked. “What the bloody hell—” was all he could get out.

“Lucifer Morningstar, you’re going to fuck me. Right now.”

“But –”

She reached down, grabbed the hem of her dress, and pulled it up and off. She was naked underneath, and for a moment Lucifer wondered whether there was an angel he didn’t know about: the gentle curve of her hips, the toned stomach, the silky blonde hair spilling over her shoulders and wafting over the perky breasts capped by hard pink nipples. “Now shut up,” she said, and smashed her lips against his.

She moaned as she welcomed his tongue into her mouth, squirming on top of him, then rose up, grabbed the back of his head, and forced a breast into his mouth. Her moan deepened as his lips fastened around the nipple, sucking on it and gently rolling it between his teeth. Then back to kissing him, her hands falling to his waist, tugging at his pajama bottoms, groping for him, her eyes growing wide when she found him hard and ready. “Fuck, you’re _huge_ ,” she murmured as she wrapped her hand around the shaft.

Lucifer slid his hand down between her legs and found her sloppy wet. Her mouth locked on his again as she sat up just a bit, positioning his cock against her opening. She sat back and cried out as the crown slipped inside her. She began rocking up and down, taking a little more each time, the walls of her vagina grudgingly spreading to accommodate him. She broke off the kiss, bracing her hands against his chest, and beamed down at him. “You don’t know how many times I’ve fantasized about this,” she whispered. “This is so much better.”

His hands were all over her body, squeezing a breast, then her ass, then urging her back on him, then pulling her down for a heated kiss. She gasped as his hands slid to her hips and forced her farther and farther down onto him. When she’d taken all of him, he held her there and gave a slight shift of his hips, his cock pressing against all the right places inside her. _God, can this man fuck!_ she thought.

She buried her face against his shoulder as she bounced up and down on his cock. “Oh you’re so big and hard and deep…” she whispered. Then suddenly his hands gripped her by the waist and held her rigid while he thrust up into her, and she barely had time to sob, “Fuck me, I’m gonna come!” before she did. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight as her body trembled against his.

As she came back to earth, she realized that he was still inside her, still hard. Without warning, he cradled her ass, stood up, turned, and plopped her down on the couch, with him on top of her. He gave several shallow thrusts into her, and then she saw stars as he gave a long, slow one, until every inch of him was buried inside her.

He pulled almost all the way out, just the tip still inside, then grabbed the back of her knees and spread her legs wide. Then he took her hard, his shaft a dark blur as it plunged relentlessly into her. “So much…” she gasped. “So much cock inside me…” She managed to stare up at him; his eyes were black and blown. “Oh Lucifer, don’t you stop, don’t you _dare_ fucking stop… you’re gonna make me come again…” And then she unleashed a sound she’d never made before, from a place she’d never known was there, a place where there was only heat and light. Her orgasm had no sooner started to ebb than he gave a guttural groan, pulled from her, and erupted. She could only stare as he jerked on his cock, coaxing streams of pearly-white semen that spurted across the length of her body, covering her breasts with a milky glaze of come.

* * * * *

He collapsed next to her on the couch. It took a long time for them to regain their breath. “Well,” she finally said, “I guess I know what _your_ fantasy was.”

He chuckled. “I told you I loved that movie.”

“I think this just made every bit of crap I’ve taken over that stupid thing worth it. I mean… wow. Just wow. I don’t think I’ve ever come that hard in my life.”

Lucifer breathed deeply, then turned to her and smiled. “Well, now that that’s taken care of, we can go back to being partners.”

She stared at him, and Lucifer realized even a blind man could see the pain in her eyes. She sat up, reached down and grabbed her dress, then mumbled, “I need to clean up.”

“The bathroom’s up—”

“I’ll find it,” she said as she rushed away.

He was standing at the bathroom door when it opened. “Listen, Chloe –”

“I have to go,” she said, pushing past him and down the stairs. The door slammed, and she was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm very interested to hear comments about this one, especially answers to the Goldilocks Question: too hot, too cold, or just right? Although in this case, I guess, "hot" wouldn't be a bad thing.
> 
> Oh, and another thing. For those of you wondering when (or if) we're going to get to the supernatural stuff, that's coming up on Tuesday.


	11. Man Down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe talks with Linda, Lucifer talks with Henderson, Chloe talks with Lucifer, Chloe talks with Lucifer AGAIN, and Jimmy Barnes shows up

“So how are things going with you, Chloe?” asked Linda in a warm voice. “Are you still working with that detective?”

“Oh, yeah! I’m a ‘civilian consultant’ now,” Chloe gushed. “Doesn’t that sound so cool?”

“It certainly sounds like you’re enjoying it.”

“I am. I really am.” Chloe fidgeted with her hands and looked down, then back up at Linda. “I slept with him. Lucifer,” she blurted out. “Yeah, I know, ‘Chloe Decker has sex with somebody. Alert the media. Film at 11.’”

“But this was different, because you’re talking about it. So how was it?”

“It was…” Linda frowned at Chloe’s hesitance. “Oh, don’t get me wrong, the sex was _fantastic_. I mean, he’s got this _huge_ …” She stopped.

Linda smiled. “And there’s a ‘but.’”

Chloe looked down, twisting her fingers together. “I don’t know how to explain it. I mean, he’s really nice to me, he’s funny, and he’s smart, and my God, he’s so _gorgeous_ …”

“I’ve never heard you talk about anybody else this way. It sounds like you care for him.”

Chloe hesitated again. “That’s the problem. I don’t know if I should. I mean, he _seems_ to care for me, but he keeps telling me he’s really this horrible person, and this morning, after we’d had this _really great_ sex, he acted like, well, that’s over and done with and now we can go on like it never happened.”

“When’s the last time you did care about someone, Chloe? I know you have friends, but I mean in a romantic sense.”

Chloe looked away again, staring out the window. “I don’t know,” she said at last. "I don't know if I ever have."

“We’ve talked about this, Chloe. Your mother left you, and your father orphaned you. It’s only natural that you’d build up walls so that you wouldn’t feel that kind of loss again.”

Chloe nodded. “Yeah, I know.”

“Of course you do. And I can’t tell you how happy I am that you recognize your abandonment issues, and your unwillingness to put yourself in a position where you’re afraid you’ll lose something, or someone, that you care about. That’s what’s necessary to make real progress, and you have. You’ve come so far.” Linda laughed. “I can’t tell you how many patients I have where it’s in one ear, out the other. It’s like they don’t hear anything I say, or they just do the exact opposite.”

Chloe nodded. “Yeah. And I can’t thank you enough, you’ve just been amazing.” She fidgeted again. “So what do you think I should do?”

“Maybe he has the same problem you do. Maybe he’s just afraid of committing to someone because he’s afraid of losing them. Just let him know that you’re there for him, and if he comes around, you’ll know soon enough. And if he doesn’t, you’ll know that, too.”

* * * * * 

Lucifer told the lieutenant he had to do some more footwork on the Reynolds killing, and met Henderson at the FBI headquarters. Chloe had texted Lucifer that she had an appointment and would be there about eleven. His text asking if she was okay had gone unanswered, and his phone calls went straight to voice mail.

“Come on in, grab a cup of joe with me,” said Henderson when Lucifer came in. They walked back into the small coffee room. Henderson poured them each a cup, handed one to Lucifer, and the two sat down. “Boy, that little partner of yours is sure a firecracker in the sack,” Henderson laughed, and leaned over conspiratorially and winked. “Course, I’m guessing I don’t have to tell _you_ that, right?”

Henderson had been shot at five times. He’d faced down a mob of angry bikers. He’d faced down death, for that matter.

But he’d never been as scared in his life as he was when Lucifer Morningstar grabbed him by the throat and pinned him against the wall. “You will _not_ disrespect her!” Lucifer roared, and Henderson would swear with his dying breath that he saw Lucifer’s eyes flash red, even though he knew that was simply impossible. Henderson crumpled to the floor when Lucifer released him, and Lucifer stalked out of the room.

Chloe found Lucifer outside the building, walking back and forth, obviously agitated. “What’s wrong?” she said.

He glared at her. “Oh, Special Agent Henderson – well, you certainly found him special, didn’t you? He was just regaling me with an account of your sexual exploits with him, and I learned that I was simply the second feature on the card for the night.”

“Lucifer, it wasn’t like that.” 

“Wasn’t it?” 

Her face clenched, her nostrils flaring. “You’re jealous? You’re _jealous??_ Okay, yeah, he fucked me. And then you fucked me.” Passersby turned to stare at her, and she felt the tears welling in her eyes. “And when he fucked me it wasn’t a big deal to me, and when you fucked me it sure as hell wasn’t a big deal to you.”

He stared at her. “Chloe, I –”

“And don’t give me this ‘Chloe’ shit. It’s Ms. Decker to you, and it’s Ms. Decker to that bigmouthed asshole up there.” She nodded at the building and brushed her wet cheeks with the back of her hand. “Now we’ve got a job to do, so let’s do it, and after that you and your oversized male ego can go fuck each other for all I care.” 

The secretary guided them into Henderson’s office, and he extended a hand to greet them. Chloe walked up to him and slapped him in the face. “You didn’t even make me come,” she hissed. Lucifer might not lie, but she damn sure could. “If your dick was as big as his I wouldn’t have had to fake it.” She turned and sat down, glaring up at the both of them. “Now, Barnes is calling me in two hours. What do I tell him?”

* * * * *

The bar was nearly empty again. Espinoza sat down and wondered for a moment whether Pierce paid people _not_ to come here.

“Everything taken care of?” asked Pierce.

“Yep,” Espinoza replied. “Under control. Two nights from now. Got everybody ready.”

“You take care of my problems, I take care of yours. We won’t have to worry about Barnes after tonight.”

“What’s going to happen?”

“What’s going to happen is that Barnes has a meeting with an FBI agent tonight. Did you know that there’s a person at the FBI in LA whose job it is to keep track of where every FBI agent is in the city at all times?”

Espinoza grinned. “And I’m guessing you know who that person is.”

“Yes, I do. And I know that FBI agent Scott Henderson has been looking for Jimmy Barnes, and my friend’s records says that Henderson has submitted a note for an address on West 23rd at 9:30 that says ‘meet – JB.’”

Espinoza shook his head. “Jesus, how fucking dumb can you get? Your people will take care of it?”

“Yeah. My ‘people.’”

Espinoza couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen Pierce smile like that. Or at all, for that matter.

* * * * *

“We’re not open yet,” said Maze with studied disinterest. She finally rolled her eyes and stepped aside to let Lucifer in.

The bar was empty, save for the bartenders placing new bottles on the shelves and the crew setting up the sound system for the DJ. Chloe was sitting in a booth, working on some papers. She glanced up as Lucifer walked up to the table, then returned to her paperwork. “What do you want?” she said, in a voice that would’ve sunk the Titanic.

“I’m sorry.” She stopped writing. “I know I hurt you very badly with the stupid things I said. I do care about you, and I just wanted you to know.” He turned to walk away.

“Wait.” He stopped and turned around. “Do you mean that? I mean, the caring part?”

“I never lie, Ms. Decker. You know that.”

She smiled and suppressed a chuckle. “We can go back to ‘Chloe.’ Come sit with me.”

He slid into the booth, next to her. She smiled shyly at him. “I know you care about me. You’ve saved my life, you let me come along with you, and nobody really made you do that. I know it’s because you like being with me. I’m sorry about Henderson –”

“There’s no need to apologize.”

“Well, you’re right, because the only reason I did anything with him was because you keep pushing me away and after he and I – well, after that I realized it was you I really wanted. So then you and I had this really amazing time…” She gazed at him. “It was really special to me, and I thought it was for you, too, but then you push me away again. Why do you do that?”

“Chloe, I told you, it’s that you don’t know –”

“Oh, right, I forgot, you’re a terrible person and you don’t want me to see the monstrous side of you and…” She reached over and cupped his chin. “But I don’t care because I know you, Lucifer, and you’re not that person, not to me.” Tears began to well in her eyes, then she saw one form in his own. Her hand slid around to his neck, and she pulled him down to kiss him.

It was so much different from the night before. That had been unbridled passion, two people trying desperately to douse a burning fire. This was incredibly soft and tender, their heads slanted perfectly, their lips brushing against each other, then just slightly parting so the tips of their tongues could dance together.

He broke off the kiss and stood up. “Listen, I have to go do some planning with Henderson. And no, I’m not trying to push you away.” He bent over and kissed her again, and the heat grew in her core as this kiss bordered on the passionate, his tongue darting farther into her mouth. He released her, his reluctance plain on his face. “We’ll pick you up at nine, okay?”

She nodded. “Then after this, we’ll talk, yeah?”

“Yes. We’ll talk.”

* * * * *

There was a streetlamp near the abandoned storefront that cast just enough light to allow Chloe, Lucifer, and Henderson to make their way from the back door and around the counter. They stood in a small semicircle, Lucifer in the middle, about five feet distance between them, each of them searching, wary. 

“Five’ll get you ten he doesn’t show,” said Henderson.

“He was concerned that more people were coming, but he seemed to settle down when I told him it was only the three of us,” Chloe replied.

They heard a side door open. There was someone in the shadows. “Ms. Decker?” a small voice said.

“Yes, Jimmy, I’m here.”

The man they recognized as Jimmy Barnes shuffled into view, casting furtive glances back and to the sides. “You’ve got something for us, Mr. Barnes?” said Henderson.

“Yeah, I’ve got the drive.” Barnes reached into his shirt pocket as he gingerly approached the FBI agent.

“You done good, Jimmy,” Chloe said, and Barnes turned to look at her, a smile on his face.

Lucifer saw a glint from the loft across the street, and moved toward Chloe. The window to the storefront shattered, and the back of Jimmy Barnes’ head disappeared in a pink mist before they even heard the shot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter turned out to be a good bit longer than I'd intended, mainly because I decided I needed a second scene between Chloe and Lucifer. From the comments yesterday, I don't think many people anticipated this turn of events. We'll be getting into the supernatural aspect much more in the remaining chapters.
> 
> I'm happy with how Chloe's character has developed; I think I've done a better job of defining her than of defining Lucifer, so I need to work on that a bit. But she's one tough broad, in the most complimentary sense of that term. (Her putdown of Henderson was a joy to write.)
> 
> I'd appreciate your comments on that, of course.


	12. Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe sees another side of Lucifer, one she hadn't anticipated.

The second shot sent Henderson flying back about ten feet, crashing into the counter. The third whizzed by Chloe’s head, but by that time Lucifer was pushing her hard toward a pillar. She heard a fourth shot, and she could swear she saw Lucifer wince, but then he was behind the pillar with her.

Clouds of plaster dust from the pillar flew as two more shots pinged close by. Chloe tugged on Lucifer’s sleeve. “Is that coming from the loft across the street?” Lucifer nodded. “You think there’s any more of them?”

“I’m sure. They’ll certainly want to want to retrieve the drive, so I assume they’ll be along sooner or later for that. But we have to take out the shooter first.” As long as the shooter was in place, Lucifer knew, Chloe’s life was in danger.

“How are we going to do that?” Lucifer took out his standard issue Glock 22, and Chloe knew enough about guns from her roles in _The Weaponizer_ to know that a handgun was useless at this range. “That’s not going to do us much good.”

He chambered a round and put the gun in her hands. “It will do _you_ some good. I’m going to deal with the shooter. It will only take a few minutes. Stay here, and if anybody comes in, shoot him.”

Chloe stared at him, eyes wide, her mouth gaping open. “Are you out of your mind? How are you going to do anything without a gun against a man across the street _with_ a gun?”

He pushed her farther behind the pillar. “Stay down,” he said, and she barely had time to scream “Lucifer! No!” before he ran out from cover. She heard another shot, then a whoosh, and a rush of air blew back against her. Seconds later there was the sound of glass shattering across the street, and the most unholy scream she’d ever heard in her life.

Right after that, she heard the crunching sound of a man walking on broken glass, close by.

As Lucifer had suspected, there were two men in the loft, one to spot and one to shoot. The shooter had been paralyzed by fear when Lucifer, white wings unfurled, had crashed through the window; a sweep of those wings had sent him careening into a wall, his gun sliding uselessly across the floor. Lucifer turned to the second man, who by this time had pulled his own gun. His eyes grew wide as Lucifer approached him, not even flinching as the man emptied his clip into him. “Who are you? _What_ are you?” the man sobbed, falling on his knees. Lucifer grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt and flung him into the air. He landed thirty feet away and lay still.

That was when Lucifer heard shots from the storefront.

Chloe kept the pillar between her and the loft, but moved just enough so she could see a man crouched down by Barnes’ body, patting it down, searching for the zip drive. “Don’t move or I’ll shoot,” Chloe said, trying desperately to put as much confidence as she could into her words.

The man stood up, smiled – oh, God, thought Chloe, it was the most hideous smile she’d ever seen – and shuffled toward her. “I’m warning you, stay back,” she said, holding the gun with both hands just like she’d been taught to do on _The Weaponizer_ , realizing that that was so much not like this. “Take another step and I swear I’ll shoot.”

The man’s smile had devolved into a feral grin. He took another step toward her. Chloe took a deep breath, pointed her gun at the man’s chest, and fired, astonished to see that she’d hit the man square in the chest.

He barely flinched. He kept moving toward her, and she kept firing, five shots, ten, all with no effect. He was only steps from her now. Chloe remembered some zombie movie she’d seen, something about head shots being the proper killing method, and took aim right at the center of the man’s head and squeezed the trigger twice. His head moved ever so slightly as each bullet scored. She fired off another two shots, then another. Or it would have been another, but the gun was empty, and the man was upon her, and Chloe knew for the second time in a week that she was going to die.

Then suddenly it was daytime, or it seemed to be. There was so much light, and Chloe looked to see the source of it: a towering figure, ten feet tall, all red bone and gristle, his dark blood-red wings unfurled behind him. It opened its mouth and emitted a deep growl, at least two octaves below any human voice she’d ever heard, that resonated throughout the storefront. “You do not belong here!” it bellowed, and the man released his grip on Chloe and fell to his knees in silent supplication to the beast in front of him. “Go back to Hell!” The man slumped to the ground, and Chloe knew instinctively that he was dead.

She looked up in dread to see what the monster would do to her. It gazed down at her, but there was something, something in the eyes, something she recognized, the way it looked at her…

And then the full horror dawned on her. “Lucifer?” she gasped, and then she turned and ran out of the storefront and down the street, ran so hard, harder and faster than she’d ever run, and she didn’t stop until she heard the sirens of the police cars in the distance.

The cops spilled out of the three cruisers that pulled up. Lucifer directed several officers to the loft, and minutes later they dragged out two men in handcuffs. “Some crazy shit over there,” Sgt. Cacuzza told him. “Feathers all over the place. Figure _that_ the fuck out.”

Surprisingly, the body count in the storefront was only two: Barnes and the demon, although Lucifer didn’t describe the latter as such. Henderson had somehow survived, helped by the fact that the bullet went straight through him without reorganizing his vital organs. The medical team had arrived, and the mirthless Miss Lopez told him in her clipped, toneless voice that Henderson would be out of commission for a while, but he’d make it.

One of the officers came up to Lucifer. “Hey, listen, we found your partner about two blocks down. Seemed pretty out of it. Guess this was a lot to go through for her.” Lucifer nodded. _You have no idea_. “Anyway, you just want us to take her home?” Lucifer nodded again.

An officer retrieved the drive from Barnes’ pocket, and Lucifer insisted that it be given to Cacuzza, the only man there that Lucifer knew and thoroughly trusted. Lucifer gave a sanitized account of the events – the truth, but there were some truths that just would not be believed. Cacuzza finally slapped him on the back and told him to go home and get some rest.

When he got home, he thought for a while, then dialed Chloe. The call went to voicemail.

So yes, he would rest. He would get just as much rest as a Devil with a broken heart could get.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are a lot of things that can complicate a relationship, and one of the parties being the actual Devil sure tops forgetting to take out the garbage. We'll see how Chloe handles it, or doesn't. Although I think we can rule out her rushing into the arms of Special Agent Henderson for solace.
> 
> By the way, the reason Chloe fired so many times is that the Glock 22, which has a magazine containing fifteen rounds, is standard issue for the LAPD. The things you can find on the Internet...
> 
> How do you think the story is progressing? Comments welcome, even "It's all bullshit, man, fuckin' bullshit." Well, maybe not that.


	13. Old Acquaintances

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's a knock on Lucifer's door. Lucifer so hopes it's Chloe. It's so not.

The lieutenant had given Lucifer the day off, thinking that’s what he needed, but he couldn’t have been more wrong. Lucifer brooded the morning away. He called Chloe eight times and texted her half a dozen more. Each call went to voicemail, each text went unanswered. 

He couldn’t stop thinking about her. How beautiful she looked in that red gown the first time they met. How beautiful she looked in that sundress the morning she’d tried to make breakfast for him. How beautiful she looked when she’d come into the station and mojoed the lieutenant into letting her come along with Lucifer. How beautiful she looked every single time he’d seen her.

But there was so much more. There was the way she looked at him, the smile that warmed him to his core. Her spirit and confidence, her toughness, the way she handled herself. Her laugh, the little giggle she gave when she told him she’d decided she wanted to be a “civilian consultant,” the way she teased him. Her ebullience, the way she enjoyed being with him. The way he enjoyed being with her. 

The way her eyes melted him as no one had done in his long, long life.

There was the memory, too, of the pain in those eyes when he’d said that stupid thing to her the other night. The pain in her eyes when he’d said the stupid thing in the coffee shop. The pain in her eyes when she’d told him that she was going out with Henderson. Not the pain in his eyes; he knew that was there, and knew she had seen it. There was pain, though, in her eyes, too, he knew now.

But the one memory that kept coming back to him was the look of sheer terror on her face when she’d seen him for who he truly was.

His brooding ended when he heard a knock on the door. It could be Maze, but then he remembered that she didn’t knock. Chloe, maybe? She hadn’t knocked two nights ago, but this was so different. He hurried to the door and opened it.

“Hi, Luce,” Eve squealed, in a voice that had become increasingly annoying to him. She turned her doe eyes on him. “Look, I didn’t like the way we left things, and I wanted to apologize. Can I come in?”

She brushed past him and put a small brown paper bag on the counter in the kitchen. “See? I even brought a bottle of wine as a make-up gift.”

“Eve, we’re not making up. I told you, it’s over.”

“Oh, I know,” she said. “I didn’t mean it that way. It’s just that I care about you –"

“And I you.”

“—so I wanted to make sure we stayed friends.”

Lucifer relented. “I’m glad to hear that. I’d like that, too.” 

“Come, have a drink with me.”

It was just past noon. “It’s kind of early for that.”

“It’s too early in the afternoon for the _Devil_ to have a drink? Luce, you really have become a stick-in-the-mud. Please?”

He shrugged, reached up in the cupboard, and brought a couple of glasses over to the counter. Eve unscrewed the cap on the bottle. “No cork?” said Lucifer.

“Oh, a lot of good ones come this way now,” bubbled Eve as she filled each glass halfway. “See if you like this. I think it’s a really good Cab.”

He took a sip, nodded, and then took another. “Not bad.”

Eve looked at him apologetically. “Listen, I’m so sorry about the things I said about your girlfriend. Chloe, was it?”

“I doubt that she’d qualify as my girlfriend at this point, I’m afraid.”

“Why, what happened?”

“Well, it turns out she didn’t know the real me, either.”

Eve touched his hand. “I’m sorry to hear that, Luce.”

“Well, it’s… it’s…”

The door opened. Lucifer looked up, but his vision was fuzzy. There was a man, or was it two? No, one, a man in black clothes coming through the door. When his legs became wobbly, he looked at Eve.

And that's when he realized that she hadn’t drunk anything from her glass.

Lucifer grabbed for one of the stools, but it slid from his grasp, and he crashed to the floor. He looked up at Eve, standing above him. “Why?” he rasped.

“He’s my son, Lucifer. Do you think I’d let you hurt my son? After what you did to me?” She turned to the man in black. “Father Kinley?”

The last thing Lucifer remembered was the man walking over to him and saying in a rich Irish voice, “I’ll take it from here, Eve.”

The door swung open, and Kinley and Eve turned toward it. The knife hit Kinley square in the throat. He clutched at it as he fell, vainly trying to hold in the blood that was spurting from his severed carotid artery. Eve screamed, but by that time something hideous and deformed was on her. “I can’t tell you how long I’ve been waiting to do this,” the thing said in a language and a voice that was not of this world. 

And then the knife came down.

When Lucifer came to, it was still light. “Maze…” He sat up a bit. “How did you…”

“Look, I came up here for the sex, but my number one job is still protecting you. I always thought Eve was up to no good, so I was following her around, and when I saw her meet up with that priest, I put two and two together.” She pulled him into a sitting position.

“How long have I been out?”

Maze looked at him, her expression oddly sympathetic. “Three years.”

_“What?”_

“Relax, asshole, it’s only been a couple of hours. It was just a sedative.”

Lucifer stood up, a little unsteadily. He looked at Maze, and both of them knew what he was going to say. “Chloe?” he asked.

For the second time in five minutes, and probably in her entire existence, Maze’s expression was sympathetic. This one wasn’t feigned. “Look, you need to let that go.”

“I just…”

“Just let it go. She cared for you a lot, and I tried to warn her, but she took it really hard. _Really_ hard. I mean, it’s not like she ran off to Europe or anything, but she’s not getting over this.”

Lucifer nodded, and the image he knew would haunt him for millennia returned.

Maze took care of the cleanup and the removal of the bodies. Lucifer tried to read, but there he was several hours later, staring into space.

Another knock on the door. Probably that pesky neighbor with her useless urchin who was constantly showing up to urge him to buy candy or cookies or whatever. Or worse. _Who’s coming to poison me now_ , thought Lucifer as he went to the door and opened it.

“Hi,” said Chloe. “Can I come in?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That deafening sound you hear is the cheers from Eve-haters everywhere. I guess I forgot to have Maze singing "Wonderwall" to her, huh? I know a few people liked her in the TV show, but I got zero comments expressing regret when I seemingly wrote her character off a few chapters back. 
> 
> There's an ongoing debate on whether the TV Chloe overreacted to the Reveal. With this chapter and the next, I'm wondering if I have her underreacting. Interested in your opinions.
> 
> By the way, the reason the wine bottle's a screwcap and not corked is so that none of you sit around wondering, "How'd she get the poison in the bottle?" It's the little things I think of in the shower.


	14. Reconciliation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucifer and Chloe talk things out after the Big Reveal.
> 
> There's some serious smut here. If that's not for you, skip what's between the asterisks. But enough fluff here to cut with a knife.

She walked into the living room, by the couch, then turned to face him. “So you’re the Devil?”

“Yes. Beelzebub. Satan. Prince of Darkness. All that.”

“No horns or tail?”

“Sorry. Although angels self-actualize, so I might be able to –”

“No, hard pass on that,” Chloe said, shaking her head. “That means you’re the embodiment of evil, right? That’s what all the books say.”

Lucifer had always wanted to have a chat with the man who said there’s no such thing as bad PR. “Do you think I’m evil, Chloe?”

“ _I’m_ asking the questions” she shot back. “So you’re really the _actual_ DeviI.”

“Yes. Really.”

She looked at him, angry now. “Think you might have fucking told me that somewhere along the line?”

“I tried to.”

“No, you told me I didn’t know who you really were, how you were a terrible person. God – am I allowed to say that?”

“If people saying ‘God’ bothered me, I’d never have sex.”

“Anyway, here I was thinking you might be behind in child support or into porn. Telling somebody you’re a terrible person, the first thing that pops into their mind isn’t, ‘Oh, this guy must be Satan.’”

“Would you have believed me if I’d told you? If that night we first met at LUX, I’d introduced myself and said, ‘Oh, by the way, Ms. Decker, I happen to be the Devil’?”

“I would’ve thought you were batshit crazy. But maybe after that thing in the garage, where you throw a guy twenty feet like it was nothing, and another guy shoots you and he might as well have been throwing spitballs at you? Maybe then you say something about it to me?”

“So I can see the look of horror on your face then, instead of after…” His voice drifted off.

She suppressed a sob. “I’m sorry, but that was… I was… I was just _terrified_!”

“Don’t you think I know that?” His voice rose. “Don’t you think I _knew_ that would happen? I tried to tell you, Chloe, to stay away, because I knew what would eventually happen, what you’d eventually realize I was if we acted on your feelings.”

“ _My_ feelings?” she hurled back at him, her voice cold and angry.

He looked at her for a few minutes without saying anything, then surrendered. “My feelings, too.” There was distress in his voice now. “Chloe, I care very much for you, and I just didn’t want to hurt you.”

She tried to keep the tears from her eyes, from her voice. “You did. You might not have wanted to, but you did.”

“I know that now.” The sadness in his own eyes gave her the apology she needed. 

Chloe thought for a minute, then looked at him carefully. “Were you ever going to hurt me. I don’t mean by acting like an asshole. You know, _really_ hurt me?”

“I would never dream of hurting you.”

Chloe nodded. “That’s what I thought. I don’t know what it was, but I always felt safe with you. From the very start. I could see it in your eyes, even when… even with your face. The way you looked at me.” The tears came. “Like… like I was special.”

He nodded, and his eyes were wet now, too. “You were. You always have been. I sensed that from the very beginning.”

She wiped the tears from her cheeks and gave him a small smile. “Well, I guess you don’t break into a man’s house to make him breakfast if you think he’s going to hurt you.”

“Frankly, I think if you would have made me that breakfast, it would have hurt _me._ ” 

She put her hand to her mouth to stifle her laugh, then moved closer toward him. “Lucifer? I want you to show me your face.”

“Chloe, I –”

“Show it to me.”

He did. She flinched just a little at first, but there was no look of terror, nothing like what he’d seen the other night. She ever so gently reached out and brushed a finger across it. “Does that hurt?” He shook his head. “Okay, now go back.” She smiled. “Show me again.” Her expression stayed the same. “You’re beautiful,” she whispered when he took his Devil face away.

“No, Chloe, what you’re seeing is not the real me.”

“Yes, it is, Lucifer. I don’t want to hear about how you’re this monster or that you’re terrible, because I know that’s not true.” She leaned up and kissed him. “I told you, I know the real you, and I…”

And then she kissed him again, her lips firmer against his, slightly parted, his arms wrapping around her. After a minute more, she pulled back. “Lucifer?”

He reluctantly released her. “Yes, Chloe?”

“I want you.”

* * * * *

And then they were on each other, his arms wrapped around her waist, hers around his neck, lips wide and pressed hard against each other, tongues dancing together. She broke off the kiss. “Take me,” she whispered, her breath hot on his cheek.

He spun her around so her back was to him, and she moaned as his hand slipped inside her blouse and cupped her breast through her bra while the other unbuttoned her jeans, pulled down her zipper, and eased its way into the waistband of her panties. She clenched around his fingers as they probed inside her, finding her wet and sticky. She reached behind her, groping for him, then she heard his zipper go down and closed her fingers around his hard cock. She could feel his teeth biting into her pulse point, not hard, just right, as she stroked him. He fingered her perfectly, the tips sliding back and forth across her folds, and then up, circling around her clit, pressing against it, then around, then pressing again, and she barely had time to gasp “Oh, Lucifer!” before she climaxed.

She turned and kissed him again, then whispered, “I want you in my mouth,” and fell to her knees, her lips slipping over the head of his cock and hurrying down the shaft.

She’d long ago mastered her gag reflex, but she knew that there was no way she was going to take him all the way down, at least not in this position. She swallowed as much as she could, clasping both hands around the shaft, twining her figures together, and jerking him hard. She fixed her eyes on his, seeing his pupils black and blown, watching the look of sheer amazement spread on his face, his mouth wide open, and with a grunt he gave a thrust and his come filled her mouth. She swallowed as much as she could, some spilling over her lip and oozing down her chin.

He pulled her up, scooping up his come with his finger, and she let him feed her with it. “You little minx,” he rasped. “Nobody’s ever…”

He spun her around and bent her over the edge of the couch, pulled off her jeans and panties, then propped her one leg on the edge, spreading her wide for him. “You’ve tasted me, now let me taste you,” he said, and she gasped as she felt the bristle of his beard against her thighs. His tongue darted inside her, then his fingers, first one, then two. She felt the loss as he pulled them from her, then gave an ecstatic moan as he licked a line from the top of her slit to the bottom, then down again, farther down, until it circled around her clit. “Oh, yeah, there! Right there!” she gasped, reaching behind her, clutching the back of his head, forcing his mouth harder against her. Usually, her clit was sensitive right after she’d come, but he was magic, his tongue darting in and out of her, and then down just once and the slightest touch of his tongue on her clit forced her over the edge.

She trembled as he stood up, his hard shaft flopping onto her ass. Wait, what? She reached behind her and found him fully erect again. “Inside me…” she panted, pushing the head of his cock until it was poised at the entrance of the cunt that ached for him. 

She gasped as he penetrated her. It wasn’t like the first time, when he had to slowly work his way in. This time he slid almost all the way inside her, pulled back just a little, then thrust forward again, and she moaned as she felt him bottom out.

And then he took her, long, deep thrusts inside her. “Harder… Fuck me harder…” she pleaded, stars bursting in her head as she felt his balls slap against the backs of her thighs with each stroke. He grabbed a fistful of her hair and pulled her back toward him. His other hand worked its way underneath her bra and cupped her breast, a finger flicking back and forth across the hard nipple, and she was begging him to come and then the length of his cock was throbbing inside her and she was coming, she was coming too, she was coming so fucking hard…

* * * * *

They cuddled on the couch, his arm around her, her head pressed against his chest. “That was a bit embarrassing,” he said after a while.

“What?”

“Well, that first time you made me come. Normally I have more stamina than that. Don’t want you to think I’m a two-pump chump.”

“Lucifer?”

“Yes?”

“Of all the things I could possibly be thinking about right now, that is not one of them. How did you get hard again so fast?”

“Well, that’s another aspect of stamina. I can have sex six, seven times a night. Even more. ‘Big Ben strikes ten,’ I like to say.”

“You do, huh?” She patted his chest. “Well, I don’t see Big Ben getting much past late afternoon with me.” Well, maybe an early dinner, she reconsidered.

She cuddled up a little closer. She liked the way his arm felt around her. “So you were in charge of Hell?” Lucifer nodded. “That means you tortured people?”

“Well, I more or less put Maze in charge of that.”

“Wait! _MAZE???_ ”

“I guess she didn’t tell you.”

“Yeah, she must’ve forgotten to mention that little detail. Oh, God!”

“Dad didn’t have anything to do with that one, believe me. Oh, and by the way, ‘Dr. Canaan’ is actually my brother Amenadiel. He’s an angel, too.

Chloe looked stunned, then asked, “Does this get any weirder?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“Right,” said Chloe, shaking her head. “Good thing, because it’s certainly not weird enough already.”

They were silent for a while longer, and then Chloe sat up. “Listen, I’ve got to go.”

Lucifer looked at her, puzzled. “Why? Did I say something stupid again?”

She shook her head and smiled. “No, it’s not that.” She buttoned her blouse, retrieved her jeans and panties, and slipped them back on.

“Then what is it?”

“This is a lot of celestial craziness to deal with.” Chloe turned and avoided his gaze at first, then finally looked at him. “And something just dawned on me. I just realized I’m in love with the Devil. I’ve never even _been_ in love before, and… I’m not sure how to handle all this. I’m sorry, I just need a little time to sort this out, okay?”

He smiled at her, a smile that warmed her entire being. “Take all the time you need,” he said. 

“Thank you,” she whispered.

As she got to the door, he called to her. “Chloe?”

She turned. “Yes?”

He hesitated a second. “I… I love you, too.”

She closed the door behind her, but not before he could see the tears spill from her eyes. He shook his head. It seemed that he just couldn’t find the right thing to say to her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wasn't sure whether I should include the sex scene; I was concerned whether that was credible. Decided to do so because
> 
> 1\. I think a sex scene is consistent with Chloe's character in this fic.
> 
> 2\. I like writing smut.
> 
> 3\. It's my story, so sue me if you don't like it.
> 
> Your opinions always welcome and of interest.


	15. Interrogation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In yesterday's episode, Chloe and Lucifer had a long talk about The Reveal, the resolution resulting in a bout of make-up sex, just about the best kind. Chloe realizes she's in love with the Devil, and leaves to sort that out.
> 
> In today's episode, Dan and Lucifer have a chat. Not much male bonding involved.

The lieutenant called Lucifer into his office as soon as he arrived in the morning. “Looks like you dodged a bullet.” Interesting turn of phrase, in light of the events a couple of nights ago. “We got everything off those files Barnes had, and it turns out your partner was crooked. We rounded him up yesterday afternoon, along with his crew. 

“Looks like Espinoza was pretty much the Sinnerman’s right-hand man. And the Sinnerman was apparently running Cain Enterprises as a front. We shut that whole thing down, too. And here’s the big plus. Espinoza was running with several buddies on the force, and one of them gave up that they were planning on taking this drug deal down over on Palmetto Street. So _we_ took it down instead, and took almost a million dollars worth of drugs off the street.” The lieutenant grinned. “Of course, by the time we do the press conference on it, it’ll be three million dollars. Talk about a win-win.”

The lieutenant scanned the squad room. “Where’s your partner?”

“She may be in later, but I’m not sure.”

“Well, I got to hand it to her, the two of you did a helluva job on this. The Chief of Police called me, and he’s created a new position just for her. ‘Civilian consultant,’ something like that. If you want to keep working with her, we’d be happy to have her aboard.”

“I’d like that very much, Lieutenant.”

“I figured you would. The two of you work really well together, and let’s face it.” The lieutenant gave him a playful slap on the arm. “She ain’t exactly hard on the eyes.”

Lucifer returned to his desk and thought about calling Chloe. No, she’d said that she needed time, so he would give her some. At least that would prevent him from saying something else stupid.

His phone buzzed, and he was elated to see her name on the screen. He marveled at her resilience. Here she had just left his condo a few hours ago, and she’d already sorted out what she needed to do. “Chloe,” he said, “I was just thinking –”

“Lucifer?” It was her, but her voice was trembling.

“Chloe?”

“Hello, Lucifer.” It was another voice, and although Lucifer hadn’t heard it in centuries, he knew who it was.

“Cain? What have you done!” he demanded, but by that time the caller had hung up.

Lucifer bolted into the lieutenant’s office. “I need to talk to Detective Espinoza.”

Lucifer walked into the interrogation room and sat down, folded his hands in front of him, and smiled at Espinoza. “Good morning, Daniel,” he said pleasantly.

“I already told them I want a lawyer. What do you think, I’m stupid?”

Lucifer’s smile spread into a grin. “Oh, Daniel, I’m well aware of the law on police interrogation. Read all the Supreme Court decisions on the subject just last night.” Espinoza looked at him funny. “So you’re right, in a way. I can’t ask you questions once you ask for a lawyer. But I can talk with you all I want. You don’t have to say anything. I just want you to listen. And the answer to _your_ question is that no, I don’t think you’re stupid.”

He leaned closer, his smile turned feral. “But I do think you’re evil.”

Lucifer sat back and studied his fingernails. “You know what happens to evil people, Daniel?” Espinoza just smirked. “They go to Hell.”

Espinoza laughed out loud. “What kind of bullshit…? What are we, in Sunday school?”

“Oh, no, Daniel. Hell is very real.” Lucifer knew his back was to the people watching the interview from behind the two-way mirror. He flashed Espinoza his Devil eyes and watched as Espinoza’s smirk transformed into a look of horror. “Very real indeed,” continued Lucifer. “I should know. I was in charge of it for a very long time.”

Espinoza was gripping the table now, his knuckles white. “Do you know what Hell is like, Daniel? Probably not. You don’t strike me as the literate sort, so I’m sure you haven’t read _Dante’s Inferno_ , which is just as well, actually. It’s not terribly accurate. You probably figure Hell has got flames and some such, as portrayed in your silly movies and TV shows. Or maybe it’s just Barry Manilow songs on repeat.

“No, it’s completely different. You remember all the horrible things you’ve done, Daniel? All the times you skipped visits with that sweet little son of yours? The time you sped off after you ran over that 12-year-old girl on her bike, and they found her broken body by the side of the road the next day? The times you didn’t come to see your mother when she was dying of cancer? All the money you stole, the lives you’ve ruined?

“You’ll relive those every day. You’ll see the face of your son when he realizes you’re not going to show up. You’ll see that little girl playing with her puppy just before she takes that ride. You’ll see your mother, the cancer ravaging her body, asking where you are. Every day.

“And there are things that you fear, too, Daniel. I’ve seen you look at Ms. Decker’s ass when she’s been here. People in prison are going to be looking at _your_ ass, Daniel. I don’t know if a macho man like you has contemplated the thought of being sodomized by the inmates. As I’m sure you know, former police officers don’t fare very well in prison.

“But it also happens in Hell, Daniel, and given what I just said about police officers in prison, you’ll probably arrive there sooner rather than later. There are demons scurrying around in Hell, and they will be only too happy to sodomize you with things you can’t imagine. It is amazing what will fit into a human anus.” He gave Espinoza a grin of sheer malevolence. “Or won’t, no matter how hard you try. 

“And It will happen to you every day. That’s another thing. When I talk about ‘every day,’ that’s so much different in Hell than it is here. We’ve been talking, what?” Lucifer glanced at his watch. “Only fifteen minutes or so. That’s five hundred years in Hell, Daniel. Think about it. Every day for five hundred years. And you’ll spend eternity there.”

By this time, Lucifer could see that Espinoza was having difficulty swallowing.

“Of course, there’s a way you might avoid all that.” Lucifer pulled the Pentecostal coin from his pocket, flicked his thumb underneath it, and let it float in the air. “That’s a Get-Out-of-Hell free card. It’s just that. It will allow you another chance at life. Maybe there is something you can do with the second part of it that will allow you an alternate fate. That will be a rough road to hoe. You’ve done a lot of horrible things, Daniel, and you’ll have to do a lot of good things – work with the mentally disabled, maybe, or become a monk – to balance the scales. Not a priest, mind you; that might lead you into all sorts of temptations. But a monk, maybe.”

“What do you want to know?” rasped Espinoza.

“I don’t need you to tell me about Marcus Pierce or the Sinnerman or Cain Enterprises, or about your role in all that. We have the files from Cain Enterprises, and we have a $5,000 payment every two weeks for ‘security’ on Cain’s books, and a corresponding $5,000 deposit into your account the very next day. It appears that you are both evil _and_ stupid. And the men we arrested with you were more than willing to tell us exactly what you do for that $5,000.

“But this is what I do want you to tell me. There is a person I care about a great deal, more than you could ever know. Your boss, Pierce, has her. If you know where he is keeping her, the coin is yours if you tell me.”

“I know!” Espinoza said, his voice almost a yell. “I’ll tell you!”

Lucifer slid a pad and a pen across the desk. Espinoza hurriedly wrote down an address and pushed the pad back.

Lucifer glanced down at it. “Very good. You can have the coin now.”

Espinoza jumped out of his seat and lunged for the coin. He screamed in agony as it vaporized in front of him.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” said Lucifer, “I forgot to tell you. Slipped my mind. The coin is one use only, I’m afraid.”

“Who used it?” Espinoza asked, his eyes glazed.

Lucifer gave a smile that was all teeth, and flashed his Devil face. “How do you think I got here?”

Hands of congratulation were thrust at him by the lieutenant and the detectives who’d watched from the viewing room. “That was fantastic, Morningstar,” said the lieutenant, enthusiastically pumping Lucifer’s hand. “I’ve got to get you a slot at the academy teaching that routine.”

“Yeah, and that coin trick was really cool, too,” said another detective. “Can you show us how you did it?”

Lucifer glanced down at the paper in his hand. They had no time to waste.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dan doesn't get much love from Lucifans, but he certainly gets more than I gave him. Well, at least he didn't go out like Eve did. I thought up that sodomy part while I was lying in bed last night. By the time I get done writing this, I might be a candidate for a session or two with Dr. Linda Martin.
> 
> By the way, Lucifer's summary of the law on police interrogation is fairly accurate. I read all the Supreme Court decisions on it last night just to make sure.
> 
> We're going to have some serious twists and turns in the next few days, so buckle up.


	16. Confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In yesterday's episode, Lucifer got Dan Espinoza to give up the location where Cain was holding Chloe. Can Lucifer rescue her?

Lucifer knew that Cain’s immortality rendered the lieutenant’s idea of having a SWAT team storm the warehouse where Cain was holding Chloe useless. His only hope was to talk Cain into releasing her. But once the lieutenant got his hands on the paper with the address – and since he’d seen Espinoza hand it to Lucifer, there was no way of avoiding that – it was his show.

Lucifer had insisted on being on the team to go in, although the team leader found it odd that Lucifer had resisted putting on a bulletproof vest. They were quiet, parking their armored car several blocks away, then surrounding the building as surreptitiously as they could. “On my count,” barked the squad leader into the walkie-talkie. “Three… two… one… NOW!”

It was perfectly planned. They breached all three entrances to the warehouse simultaneously, pouring through, guns raised, searching for targets.

There were none. The warehouse was empty. Lucifer looked for any trace of anyone having been there. Nothing.

Just then, his phone buzzed. He pulled it out and flipped it open. “Do you think I’d be stupid enough to tell Espinoza where I _really_ was?” said Cain. “I’m going to text you an address and a picture.”

The address flashed across the screen, then a picture of a woman kneeling on a blanket, her hands cuffed in front of her, tendrils of blonde hair trailing from under the black hood that covered her head. He didn’t have to see her face to know who it was.

“Come alone or she dies,” said Cain, and hung up.

* * * * *

“Good evening, Lucifer,” said Cain as Lucifer came in through the door of the restaurant. It had closed down several months ago, the tables gone, the space open. Cain stood in front of the counter. Chloe, still hooded, was kneeling about twelve feet to his right, facing him.

“Hello, Cain.”

“Lucifer?” Chloe said, her voice muffled, trembling.

“Sorry for the hood. Woman has a wicked mojo, from what I hear. Not about to let that happen.” Cain smiled, as much as his face allowed him to. “Isn’t this the part where you say, ‘You don’t have to do this’? Or is it the part where you say, ‘Let her go, this is between you and me’?”

“Both. She’s not part of this.”

“If she wasn’t, you wouldn’t be here.”

Lucifer took another step toward Cain. “Your complaint is with me.”

Cain guffawed. “Oh, you got that right. Let’s see, you destroy my organization, and then there’s that little thing about killing my mother. So, yes, I have a ‘complaint’ with you.”

“You can always start up again somewhere else, Cain. You’ve done it time and time again. You let her go, I’ll let you go.”

“You know, I was thinking about that. In fact, some of the guys were going to have some fun with your friend. God, the ass on her.” Lucifer clenched his fists, his nostrils flaring. “But I didn’t let them, because I _knew_ you’d hunt me to the ends of the earth if that happened.

“But then I thought, you’re going to do that anyway, because that’s what you do. You punish evil, Lucifer, and the evil I’ve done over the millennia? Oh, yes, you’d hunt me down to the ends of the earth, no matter what happened to your little sweetheart here. So I’m going to have to get rid of you once and for all, Lucifer.” He pulled out a gun.

“You know that’s not going to kill me.”

“Oh, you mean this?” He shot Lucifer in the stomach. Lucifer barely winced. “No, that’s certainly not going to kill you. But these guys will.”

Two men came around from behind the counter, but Lucifer could tell that they were not “men.” Both demons swirled karambits in their hands.

“It turns out that Father Kinley had quite a bag of tricks,” Cain said. “Not only did he know how to send you back to Hell, he knew how to bring demons up from there. Not many; he wouldn’t go along with that. But I made a deal with him, you back in Hell and me with some ‘special forces,’ if you know what I mean. Mom set it up, a done deal, at least it would have been if Maze hadn’t come along at just the right time. Wrong time for Kinley and mom, of course. 

“But we’re going to make up for that now. And they’re not going to kill you, Lucifer. I don’t have to tell you where those blades were forged. They’re going to end you.”

“You know I can send them back to Hell.”

Cain smile returned, or at least what could pass for one. “Can you? Might want to check on that.”

Lucifer became the Devil. Except that he didn’t. No face, no wings. Nothing.

“That’s a side effect of the sedative,” said Cain. “Takes about a day to kick in. You’ve still got your immortality, not that that’s going to do you any good against these knives. But the strength and the whole Devil routine? That won’t be back for another week, and that will be far too late for you.” Cain gave a silent nod to the demons.

Normally, a demon, even one armed with a karambit, would have no chance against a celestial, as Maze had learned to her distress several times in the past. But Lucifer was no longer a celestial. Lucifer had nothing but his normal combat skills to rely on.

Those skills were finely honed, though, and he did have one advantage. The demons had made a critical tactical mistake: instead of attacking simultaneously, one had been just a half step slower out of the gate.

That allowed Lucifer to use the first attacker against the second. The first demon lunged forward with his knife. Lucifer parried the thrust, grabbed the demon’s arm, and twisted it so his knife plunged into the stomach of the other, who turned into a cloud of dust. The first demon managed to pull away, then raised his blade and swung down on Lucifer. Lucifer ducked under it and again grabbed the arm, pulling the demon over him and onto the floor. The knife fell free, and in an instant Lucifer grabbed it and plunged it into the demon’s head.

Lucifer rose from the dust. “You’re done now, Cain,” he said as he walked toward the other man. “You can’t hurt me.”

“Oh, yes I can, Lucifer. I know exactly how to hurt you.” Cain’s face was black eyes and teeth. “I can make you watch her die.” 

Without another word, he raised the gun and fired a single shot into Chloe’s chest.

“No, _no_ , _NO!”_ Lucifer screamed, rushing toward Chloe as she toppled backwards. He got to her and saw the red bloom on her chest, the blood pooling beneath her. He pulled off the hood. Her long blonde hair spilled around her head like a halo, and her dead blue eyes stared sightlessly up at him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm guessing that was a tough chapter to read. It was a tough chapter to write. There's a hint near the end, though, that better things are coming.
> 
> Oh, and for those of you thinking, "Wait, didn't Lucifer show his devil face to Chloe after he'd been poisoned?" Yes, he did. Which I caught when I was doing the 19th draft of this chapter, and which is why I have the sedative having a delayed effect on Lucifer's devil face. Whew. That's what we call a major plot hole, boys and girls.


	17. Deus Ex Machina

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe is dead, so Lucifer seeks comfort in the arms of Ms. Lopez, but she doesn't give hugs. Lucifer decides that's not a deal-breaker. Cain winds up running a hardware store in a small town outside Sacramento, becoming the town's Trivial Pursuit champion because he kills it on the history questions.
> 
> Okay, none of that is true, except for Chloe being dead, which gives her a chance to chat up God.

Chloe sat down on the bench by the pond. The weather was perfect, the sun was shining brightly, not a cloud in the sky. She smiled when she spotted a mother duck leading her babies across the grass several feet away. There was a bag of bread crumbs next to her, she realized, and she grabbed some and tossed them toward the ducks. She laughed gaily as they scurried to get them.

She noticed a small red stain on the front of the light blue smock she was wearing. Probably jelly, although she couldn’t remember eating breakfast. She’d make sure to wash it out when she got home, wondering at the same time where that might be.

A short, squat man sat down at the opposite end of the bench. She noticed that both eyes were on one side of his face, and his mouth on the other. The nose ran horizontally, not vertically. One arm was much shorter than the other. “Nice place, isn’t it?” he said. He sounded like Billy Crystal.

“Yes, it certainly is.”

“I’m God, by the way.” The man extended his longer arm. The hand had only two fingers and a thumb.

She shook it. “Chloe Decker,” she said, and then curiosity got the better of her. “What about that bit about man being created in your image?”

God guffawed. “Oh, that. As you can see, not true. That Picasso guy was on to something. I really can’t understand how people take that Bible stuff literally. ‘I’ll take metaphors for $800, Alex.’ Oh, by the way, he just got up here. Real _meshugenneh._ This thing where he’ll only talk to you if you say things to him in the form of a question is getting old in a hurry.

“So what were we talking about? Oh, yeah, the Bible. _Oy,_ that whale story? More like a fish story. Jesus, don’t know how anybody bought into that. Oops, shouldn’t have said that, he doesn’t like it when I use his name like that. Now the flood thing, that did happen, but that was on wifey, before I sent her to Hell.”

Chloe watched the ducks walk away, sated. “You sent your son Lucifer there, too, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, that’s sort of what I wanted to talk to you about.”

Chloe looked straight at God. “That was a pretty shitty thing to do. Oh, am I allowed to say that up here?”

“What, you think this is a TV show and it’s going to come out ‘shorty’? Look, you have to understand about Lucifer. I can only tolerate certain things –”

“You don’t come across as very tolerant.”

“I get better in the New Testament. But back then, Lucifer was acting up, and it got to the point where I had no choice but to banish him to Hell. It was him or me. Like the guy said, ‘If you strike at a king, make sure to kill him.’” God chortled. “Because there’s Hell to pay if you don’t.” He nudged her with the elbow of his short arm. “Get it? Love puns, I’ll tell you.”

“But he’s not evil like everybody makes him out to be.”

“Hey, again, that’s not on me. Too bad they didn’t have shrinks back then, because Dante with that _Inferno_ thing sure could have used one. Wouldn’t want to know what was inside his head.” God slapped his thigh with his longer arm. “Oh, that’s right! I forgot I’m omniscient! I _did_ know! Now I remember.” God pursed his lips and shook his head. “Dark. So much dark.

“Anyway, it’s not like I wrote all that shit about Lucifer. See? Why humans developed this fixation with ‘bad words’ is beyond me. And that _mishigas_ about sex? Show people getting their heads blown off on TV, and nobody cares. Show two people making love, and everybody and his brother are writing letters to the network. Go figure.”

“Well, you’re kinda responsible for that. That stuff about stoning adulterers is way harsh.”

“Like I said, I’ve mellowed.”

“Anyway, I don’t care who caused it, Lucifer’s not like that. He can be really mean if somebody deserves it, but he’s a good person… At least he was with me.” If she was allowed to cry up here, she would have.

“And you cared about him, too, didn’t you?”

“Yes, I… I cared about him very much.”

God shook his head. “Yeah, that’s something.”

“Why?”

“He’s been around for billions of years. I mean, it’s not like I’d expect dinosaurs to take a fancy to him. Meanwhile, were they cool or what? Did that for one of the kids, he loved it. Fortunately, he was over that phase by the time the asteroid hit.”

“Can we focus, please?”

“Right. Anyway, so humans have been around in their present form for thousands of years, and you’re the very first person to actually care about him.”

“I think that might be because he doesn’t let them. I know he didn’t want me to.”

“Well, yeah, that hell and damnation thing can be a vibe-killer.” God studied her carefully. “But you cared for him, even if he didn’t want you to. Not that he tried very hard to push you away.”

“Yes, he did.”

God looked at Chloe, arching his single eyebrow. “Give me a break. A club owner, working as a ‘civilian consultant’ to the police, which isn’t even A Thing, and the only law enforcement experience you’ve got is playing a cop in some movies? How crazy is that? Plus, he’s the one person you can’t mojo, and he still goes along with it. Why do you think that is?”

“I don’t know. Why?”

“And here I thought you were supposed to be smart. Every single person who ever tried to get close to him he pushed away. Except you. Because he cared for you, dummy. Actually, I might have had something to do with that.” God immediately regretted those last words, but not even an omnipotent could put that cat back into the bag.

Chloe’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”

God shrugged. “Skip it. That’s sort of on a need-to-know basis.”

“Tell me!” she insisted, then realized she was bossing God around. Could she even do that, or would God just get pissed and – what was the word from the Bible? Oh yeah! – smite her?

“Okay,” God said, sitting back on the bench and staring at the blue sky. “I helped your parents conceive you.”

“ _What?_ Why would you do –” and then she realized the full implication of what he’d said. “You mean, you made me as a _plaything_ for him? None of this was _real_?”

“Relax, _bubala_. It was as real as it gets. I wanted to give him one last shot at redemption. He’d never cared for anybody before. I put you in his path to see if he would. He had the absolute ability to reject you. And you had the absolute ability to reject him. You both had free will.” God let out a long sigh. “That’s something I learned from him. Eventually.”

“You manipulative bastard!” Chloe spat out. She was beyond caring about the smiting thing.

“Really? What exactly did I manipulate, other than the two of you meeting? Other than wanting to get him into the sack, did you care for him when you met him?”

Chloe gave a little shake of her head. “Not really,” she admitted.

“And how do you know that he cares for you?”

Chloe thought for a moment. “Because he was kind to me and he made me feel good and… I could tell from his eyes. Even with his devil face, I saw it in his eyes.”

“Did you see it right away? That first night you met, did you see it in his eyes then?”

Chloe swallowed. “No,” she said quietly.

God touched her shoulder, and she felt warmth. “Listen, I was a matchmaker, yeah. I brought you together. But falling in love with each other? That was all on you two. All on you.”

Chloe studied the ground for a while. “I really miss him,” she finally whispered.

“Believe me, he misses you, too.” God turned away and studied the pond for a while. “And you’re right, I probably should have treated him better. Maybe I should make it up to him.”

“How?”

“Give you back to him.”

Chloe stared at him. “You can do that?”

“Hey, you wanna check my job description? The one that says ‘God’ at the top? But there’s a catch.” Chloe had known there would be. “He’s immortal, and you’re not. You’ll have some time together, but when you eventually die, you’re coming back up here.”

“Really? Actually, I was a little surprised by that.”

God shook his head. “Hell – am I using that expression right? – if everybody who cheated on his taxes went to Hell, there’d be nobody in Heaven. It’s hard enough finding lawyers and home contractors up here, and we don’t have cars because we don’t have anybody to sell them. So I can’t lose all my accountants, too. And you know my feelings about sex. Drugs aren’t a dealbreaker, either, unless you’re giving them to kids. Besides, you don’t feel guilty about that stuff.”

“Is that how it works?”

“Well, pretty much, although we did have to put in the Psychopath Rule when Ted Bundy showed up. But there’s another thing. Lucifer can’t follow you up here. That I won’t allow. So right now it may be hard to leave him, but think how much harder it will be after you’ve been with each other for thirty or forty years.”

Chloe thought about it for a few minutes. “I don’t care,” she finally said. “I’d rather have him in my life than not.”

God shrugged. “Okay, your call. Back you go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As hard as it was to write that last chapter, it was so much fun to write this one. Let me know what you think. And yes, Billy Crystal's impression of an old Jewish man was my inspiration for God. And you expected Morgan Freeman...


	18. Vengeance is Mine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucifer and Cain have a final showdown to see who'll be the last man standing.

Lucifer slowly stood up, beside himself as he stared down at Chloe’s body. He spun at Cain, tears coursing down his cheeks. “Why? _Why?_ ” he raged. “She did nothing to you! She didn’t deserve to die!”

Cain shrugged. “Look at it this way. Why not now? What do you think would happen thirty years from now, when you were still Prince Charming and she was… You think she was going to grow old with you? She’d grow old, but not you. Hey, I just saved you from winding up every morning looking at a wrinkled face, sagging tits, and varicose veins,” Cain taunted. “I did you a favor.”

Cain tossed the gun away as Lucifer moved toward him. “Besides, that was just for fun. _This_ is how I’m really going to hurt you.” He pulled the karambit from behind him. “Seems the boys – well, whatever you want to call them – had some extras.”

“Lucifer?” came the small voice. Lucifer turned, stunned, as Chloe raised up on her hands. 

Lucifer turned to Cain again, just in time to see him charge. Cain swung the blade in a wide arc, and Lucifer leaned back to avoid it, then pushed Cain away. Lucifer reached down and grabbed the blade the demon had left behind.

Cain laughed. “What do you think you’re going to do with that? Those things only work their special magic on celestials, and I’m immortal.”

“Really?” said Lucifer. “I think good old Dad might have decided on more than one miracle. Take a look at your arm.”

Cain glanced down. The mark was gone. 

He charged Lucifer again, once more sweeping the knife in front of him. Lucifer leaned back, the blade brushing inches from his chest, and when Cain swept it back, Lucifer parried with a hard blow of his fist to Cain’s forearm. Cain cried out in pain, and the knife fell from his hand and skidded across the floor.

Lucifer grabbed Cain by the throat and pushed him until he was pinned to the counter. Lucifer raised his blade. “You’re forgetting something,” Cain gasped. “You’re not allowed to kill a human.”

“No? Well, Cain, I’m just going to take a chance that Dad decided on a trifecta.” With that, Lucifer plunged the knife into Cain’s chest. 

Cain gave a thick cough, blood spilling from his mouth, and stared up at Lucifer. “I’ll be back in Hell sooner or later, Cain,” Lucifer said, grinning demonically. “And you’ll be waiting for me there. We’ll have so much fun.” Lucifer twisted the knife, and Cain fell to the floor, never taking his eyes off Lucifer. There was another cough, this one the death rattle, then Cain lay still.

There had been any number of times, through the millennia, when Cain had taken a spear, a sword, a knife, an arrow, a bullet, and each time he would rise.

Lucifer knew that this time Cain wouldn’t.

Lucifer rushed over to Chloe, freed her hands, helped her sit up, and wrapped his arm around her. “Chloe, are you… what… Are you okay?”

Chloe gave a weak smile. “Your Dad says hi.”

“I figured this was his doing.”

“Yeah.” Chloe started breathing more normally. “Really weird-looking guy.”

“Yes, that’s Dad. Fortunately, I get all my looks from Mom’s side of the family,” said Lucifer fondly. “She was a very attractive woman. Bore a striking resemblance to Charlotte Richards, as a matter of fact.”

Chloe realized that she could sit like that, with Lucifer’s arm wrapped around her, forever. “I told your Dad I missed you. That’s why he sent me back.”

“You shouldn’t have done that. It’s been a long, long time since I’ve been there, but Amenadiel tells me it’s beautiful. And you could’ve spent time with your own father. Amenadiel also told me that he’s up there.”

“Yeah, I’m sure. He was a really good man.” She looked up at him. “But Lucifer? I just really wanted to be with you.”

He nodded, and the look in his eyes told her all she needed to know.

He pulled her to her feet, and she stood, a little unsteadily, his arm around her waist bracing her. “We still need to talk, yeah?” she said.

“Yes, there are things we have to talk about.” He smiled. “But maybe not as much?”

She nodded. “No. Not as much.” She returned the smile. “I think I’ve sorted things out.” 

He saw a glint of metal on the floor, and reached down and picked it up.

“What is it?” she asked.

“I think it’s the bullet. The bullet he shot you with.” He smiled at her. “Maybe you could make a necklace with it.”

They both looked at each other for a minute, then shook their heads. “A bullet necklace?” Chloe said. “Sorry, that’s way too weird.”

Lucifer nodded as he tossed it away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To a certain extent, this whole fic has been a version of Opposites Day. Now if I can figure out a way for Lucifer to throw a prom for Chloe and have her tell him it's stupid...
> 
> Not to give the game away, but our lovers are pretty much out of trouble. With Cain, Eve, and Kinley dead, and Dan in prison, I've run out of villains. It's two parts fluff and one part smut from here on out, plus one more session with Linda. I'd be interested in your reactions to the plot. Any gaping holes? Credible? Formulaic? Interesting? Comments and criticisms welcome.


	19. Sail Away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We're on the downward glide now. Enemies have been vanquished, and all that remains is what happens with the relationship between Chloe and Lucifer.
> 
> Any guesses? And if yours is, "Chloe rushes back into the arms of Special Agent Henderson, now that he's out of the hospital," BZZZZZT! Wrong answer.

It was the usual packed crowd for a Saturday night at LUX. Maze waded through the mob and made her way to Chloe. “Yeah,” asked Maze, her face a mask of disinterest.

“So you’re a demon.”

Maze looked at Chloe sheepishly, except Maze didn’t do sheepish. Her expression remained unchanged. “So what?”

“What is it with you people and secrets?” Chloe said, exasperated.

Maze shrugged. “Hey, Decker, it’s not something you put on your resume.”

Chloe simply shook her head. “Well, here’s what we’re going to do. I’m giving you a new position. You’re in charge of sexual entertainment here from now on.”

Maze gave one of her rare smiles. “You mean like the orgies and stuff?” Chloe nodded. Maze’s smile faded. “I’m guessing you’re not going to be participating.”

“No,” Chloe said as she looked up and saw Lucifer descending the stairs. He looked so fine tonight: charcoal gray suit that fitted him perfectly, light blue shirt, patterned red checked tie and matching pocket square, the light stubble of a beard, the perfectly coifed hair. She saw the women flow toward him, and for a minute she wished he’d put on his Devil face just to thin out the competition. But the way his eyes lit up when he saw her told her that any fears of competition were unfounded. “No, I’m pretty sure my orgy days are over.”

Maze followed her eyes. “Yeah, his too.” Maze looked back at Chloe. “Hey, Decker, look at it this way. Your next high school reunion, when you tell everybody that you got fucked by a demon _and_ by the Devil, it’s sure gonna one-up the woman blabbering about how her snot-nosed kid won the school science fair.” 

Chloe chuckled at that, but she certainly wouldn’t be going to any high school reunions. High school had been a bad experience for her, and she still had nightmares about her prom.

Maze grabbed Lucifer by the arm and glared at him as he came up to the two of them. “Take care of my girl, Lucifer, or… the knives.” She walked away, flaunting her ass at the both of them.

Chloe chuckled and smiled as Lucifer took the barstool next to hers. “Hi, Lucifer,” she couldn’t have said any more warmly. Patrick had drinks in front of them before Lucifer had finished sitting down. “I’m thinking of coming back to work on Monday.”

“I’d love to have you. The lieutenant told me that the chief of police had created a position for you. ‘Civilian consultant,’ something like that. You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”

She gave him her most innocent smile and shook her head. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Lucifer grinned. “I’m not sure it was even necessary. After this past week, the lieutenant’s become quite a fan of yours. Of course, it was a pretty tough one for you, so you might want to take a few more days off.”

She took a sip from her glass. “Yeah, there was getting shot at –”

“Several times, as I recall.”

“And finding out that my business partner is a demon, and then getting almost strangled by one, and then getting kidnapped. What else? Oh, yeah, finding out that I’m in love with the Devil, that was pretty big.”

“And don’t forget dying.”

“Oh, right, that completely slipped my mind.” A look of concern slipped over his face. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

“It’s just that… It’s dangerous, Chloe, and I couldn’t stand losing you. When I thought I had…” She thought he’d never looked sadder.

She squeezed his arm. “Don’t worry. I never feel safer than when I’m with you.” 

Lucifer’s smile returned. “Please don’t tell me you’re going to start referring to me as your guardian Devil.”

She laughed. “You know, I think I’ve loosened you up. When we first met, you were pretty uptight. You’re actually pretty fun now.” Lucifer nodded. For the first time in his existence, someone who actually knew him for what he was cared for him. “Fun” wasn’t the half of it.

And then a thought dawned on him. This was the first time in his existence that he had actually cared for someone else.

Funny, that.

She gave him a shy smile. “By the way, you look very handsome tonight.”

“And you look…” He paused.

“Lucifer, you do know that I’m going to punch you if you say ‘heaven-sent.’”

They both dissolved into laughter. He drained his glass. “That’s the dress you were wearing when we first met.”

“You remembered!”

“You think I would forget how beautiful you looked the first time I laid eyes on you?”

He gave her a smile that made her wonder how someone could _not_ fall in love with him. “Lucifer, you can say some really dumb things –”

He feigned perplexity. “No!”

She giggled. “Yes, really.” She ran her fingers over his forearm. “But what you said just now…” She looked up at him, her eyes moist. “That might be the sweetest thing anybody has ever said to me.” She moved her hand up, squeezed his bicep, and the tiny tingle that ran through her, knowing the strength that lay underneath her fingers, made her realize that more than her eyes were getting moist.

He put his hand on hers. “Well, I’m trying to do better. This relationship thing is a little tricky.”

“Relationship, huh? So we’re really going to do this?” she asked.

He nodded, and looked straight into her eyes. “If that’s what you want. I know I’d like it very much.” 

She leaned over to him and whispered, “Detective Morningstar, I think we should continue this conversation in the penthouse.”

“Why, Ms. Decker, if I had a killer to punish, I couldn’t accept your offer.” He grinned wickedly. “But since I don’t…”

They got in the elevator, and she punched in the access code for the penthouse. “You might want to get something like this for the door on your condo,” she teased.

They rode up in silence, never taking their eyes off each other. “Lucifer?” Chloe said as they neared the top. “Can we do this slow? I mean, I really liked when we had sex before, but… I just want us to take our time with each other tonight.”

He nodded. “I can do slow, and I’d like very much to do that now.”

The elevator doors opened and they stepped off. She slipped her hand into his, their fingers twining together, and led him across the floor, up the stairs, and into the bedroom. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A better man probably would have ended the story at this point. But we've got three -- count 'em, three -- chapters to go. The next one is explicit sexual content, although not really smutty, and there's a difference. If that's not for you, skip to Chapter 21, where we'll have more fluff and a twist, and then the Epilogue for another twist. 
> 
> A shout-out to Vicki87 for giving me an idea about how to deal with Chloe's prom.


	20. Consummation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The title pretty much says it all.

They stood at the foot of the bed, facing each other. “I guess we should get undressed, huh?” she whispered. Without another word, she crossed her arms, reached over, and slipped the straps of her dress off her shoulders. It fell around her waist. It confirmed his suspicions that she hadn’t been wearing a bra.

He kissed her softly, his lips barely brushing against hers, then cupped one of her breasts in his hand, the hard nipple peeking out through his spread fingers. “You really like those, don’t you?” she said with a little giggle.

He grinned. “With those deductive skills, you’ll be the first civilian consultant to graduate to detective in LAPD history.”

She laughed, then smiled shyly. “Well, they’re not as firm as they were.”

“They’re every bit as firm. And Chloe? Back then you were a beautiful girl. Now you’re a beautiful woman.”

She stared up at him, and then her hand slipped to the back of his neck, and she pulled him down to her and kissed him, her lips parting to welcome his tongue. 

She finally stepped back, gave him a smile with just a hint of sauciness in it, and hooked her thumbs into the sides of her dress. She shimmied it over her hips and let it fall to the floor. The only clothing that remained was a tiny pair of black satin panties and thigh-high black stockings, topped with frilly lace. 

“This isn’t fair,” she said.

“What?” he said, curious.

“You’ve got all those clothes on, and with so many buttons!”

“Well, then you’d better get to work.”

He’d already shed his jacket. She started on his shirt, freeing the buttons one by one, giving him intermittent kisses, their tongues dancing with each other. She pulled the shirt out of his pants, then pulled it back, down his arms, and off.

“You’ve got a beautiful body,” she whispered, her hands roaming over his chest and abdomen. And he did. It was like a gymnast’s body: not bulking muscles, just perfectly toned and hinting of the strength underneath.

“I think you’re forgetting something,” he said. She glanced down at the supremely obvious bulge in his trousers.

“I was just getting to that.” She kissed him again, deeply this time.

Lucifer was used to lengthy periods of time, but it seemed to take an eternity for her to unbuckle his belt, another to zip down his fly. She reached inside. “Boxers, huh?” she murmured.

“What did you think, I wasn’t going to be wearing anything underneath? I may have been around when the Neanderthals were, but that doesn’t make me one.”

She laughed, her laugh turning into a contented sigh as she found his cock and wrapped her hand around the shaft, her fingers barely able to encircle its girth. “I love the way you get so big and hard for me,” she whispered.

“I think you have something to do with that, Chloe.” 

He gave a little shudder as she stroked up and ran her palm over the head. “I think we’ve got to get these off,” she whispered, then slowly lowered herself onto her knees, keeping her eyes fixed on his. She grabbed the side of his pants and boxers and together eased them down and off. His cock sprung free, its weight falling on her cheek.

She resisted the temptation to take it in her mouth, stood up, and pulled him down to kiss him while her hand closed around his shaft again, pressing it against her belly and gently stroking it. All the while his hands were moving over her, fondling her breasts, caressing her back, squeezing her ass.

But staying away from the one place she most wanted him to be.

He pulled away from her, picked her up as if she weighed nothing, and tossed her onto the bed, then got on it and crawled up next to her. He kissed her some more, and now their kisses were all lips and tongue. She was still stroking his cock, his hands were all over her, until finally she broke off the kiss as he drew his fingers across her lower stomach. “Lucifer, please touch me,” she breathed.

“I’m not sure I have to, darling. From the looks of your panties, you’re already wet.” He grinned, his fingers now barely grazing the top of her underwear. “But perhaps I should check.”

She moaned as his fingers dipped below the waistband, her moan deepening as a solitary finger slid across her slit, her ass arching up, pressing against it, trying to draw it inside her. He withdrew it instead, then moved down her body until he was poised right above her mound. “It seems I was right, love. Your panties are absolutely soaked.” She gave a little shudder as he pressed his chin against them. 

“Yes, we have to examine this more closely.” He pulled the front of her panties to the side. In his travels, Lucifer had found the Brazilians especially good for three things: steaks, parties, and this. He elicited another low moan from her as his tongue slid the length of her slit.

“Chloe, I want so much to eat that lovely pussy of yours, but first we need to remove these, as they serve no real purpose anymore.” He placed one finger in each side of her panties, and this time it was her turn to agonize as he slowly peeled them over her legs and off, then spread her legs and settled between them.

_I’ve just been in Heaven_ , Chloe thought, _and this is even better._

There were some men who believed that their fingers could double as a penis, and that a woman would be thrilled to have three of them rammed into her. Not Lucifer. He used only one, but what he could do with it! It was like he had mapped out the inside of her vagina and knew every pathway to her pleasure.

There were some men who believed that cunnilingus entailed nothing more than pressing one’s head against the vagina and licking up and down as rapidly as possible. Not Lucifer. His tongue would delicately lave her folds, then dart inside her, then slide up and down her opening, finally drifting up to flit over her clit.

There were some men who had no understanding of how to use fingers and tongue in combination, who would alternate jamming their fingers in and out of the vagina, then licking it broadly, over and over. Not Lucifer. His finger curled inside her, pressing her against her G-spot, while his tongue licked around and around her clit in slowly-tightening circles. “I’m so close… so close…” she moaned as her body tensed like a wire. And then the finger pressed just a little harder, the tip of his tongue flicked over her tiny bud, once, twice, and the wire broke, his hand pressing down on her hips to hold her as she thrashed in the throes of her orgasm.

She beamed down at him once she’d regained some modicum of breath. “You did that just perfect.” His smile was just as broad as hers as he moved up on her.

She pressed her hands against his chest. “Nope. Your turn.” She flipped him onto his back.

“Or yours, depending upon how one looks at it,” he chuckled as she stretched out next to him, her body perpendicular to his, her face just above his stomach. He groaned as she guided his cock into her mouth.

This was just foreplay, she reminded herself. She slowly took him halfway down, giving her head just a little twist as she did, her one hand gently stroking the bottom half of the shaft. Just foreplay, she reminded herself as she pulled back and swirled her tongue around the crown. Just foreplay, as she pressed her lips to the side of his cock and licked her way down, then back up. Just foreplay, as the took him in her mouth again, swallowing more of him this time, feeling him tensing beneath her as she held him there.

And there was the temptation to make him come this way, to suck and stroke him harder, to swallow more and more of it until she’d taken all of him…

But this was just foreplay, she reminded herself. 

She sat up, looped a leg over him, straddling him, pressing his cock against her stomach. “I liked that,” she said. “But right now I want you inside me.”

She leaned forward just a little, propping herself up with one hand against his chest while the other reached behind her, grasping his shaft and holding it up, rubbing the head up and down her slit, coating it with her juices. It slid easily; he’d gotten her impossibly wet. She pressed it against her opening, and she moaned as she sat back on it. Lucifer stared as she sank down, the walls of her vagina gripping his shaft, until it had completely disappeared inside her. “I love the way you fill me up,” she murmured. 

She rose up again until only the head of his cock remained inside her, then she rocked back, giving a little swivel of her hips, back and forth and to the sides in a slow figure eight pattern, as she took all of him again. “Oh, woman!” Lucifer gasped. “You have moves that make even the Devil blush!”

He reached up and cupped his hands around her breasts, gently squeezing them, and it was her turn to gasp. “Oh, yeah… yeah…” She started riding him harder as the pads of this thumbs flicked across her erect nipples. She hunched over as he gave them a light pinch, and she was rocking back faster, no more movement of her hips, just straight back, again and again, feeling him penetrate her fully, feeling the warmth spreading from her core, feeling the trembling start in her legs… Then his hands slid around to her back and he pulled her down, holding her tight against him while he thrust up into her, and she barely had time to sob, “I’m coming!” before she did.

He let her ride out her climax, then lifted her head and gave her a soft, languorous kiss. “Oh, Lucifer, that was…”

“Incredible,” he finished.

Then she noticed. “Lucifer, you’re still hard…”

“Yes, love, we’re not quite done yet.”

_Stamina_ , she thought. _Hell to the yeah._

His hands slid down to her ass and he sat up to a kneeling position, cradling her in his lap. She wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck and pulled him to her. It was her turn to kiss him, and it was more than the last one, their heads slanted perfectly, their mouths open, their tongues exploring each other, but still soft and tender.

He loved the firmness of her ass in his hands, the firmness of her breasts pressed his chest, the way her pussy clenched around his shaft. Their kisses became more passionate as he began slowly raising her off his cock, then lowering her back down on it. And as their kisses became more passionate, his movements came faster.

She broke off the kiss and pulled away just a little, her arms still around his neck, her legs clamped more tightly around his waist. They stared into each other’s eyes as he filled her again and again. Her eyes flew wide open as she felt the sensation building inside her, a sensation so familiar, yet not. “Oh, Lucifer,” she panted, “I’m gonna come! Come with me!” He grunted and pulled her tight against him, her body jerking in his lap as he spilled inside her, and they went to a place they’d never been.

She fell back on the bed, pulling him down with her. He raised up, resting on his elbows, and gazed down at her. “Lucifer?” Chloe whispered, and he’d never seen a bigger or more beautiful smile on her face. “I think we just made love. I mean, _really_ made love.”

He thought a moment. “Yes, it did feel… different.” 

They lay like that for a while, him stroking her cheek, her carding her hands through his hair, both of them just gazing at each other, without words.

Finally, she pulled him down and gave him a little kiss. “That was really nice, Lucifer.”

He smiled. “Yes, we’ll definitely have to do this making love thing more often.”

His turn to kiss her, and she bit lightly at his lower lip, and she sensed something stiffening against her thigh. She kissed him more deeply, pulling her tongue into her mouth, then she broke it off and her lips slid up to his ear. “Definitely. But you know what, Lucifer?” Her breath was hot as she whispered, “Right now, I want you to fuck me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tomorrow will be the last chapter, plus an epilogue. Hope you're having fun.


	21. Pillow Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A post-coital discussion of "promiscuity phases," and some realizations

She woke up snuggled up to Lucifer. He was already awake, raised up on an elbow, gazing down at her. She realized that this was the first time they’d actually _slept_ with each other. “Was I snoring?” she asked timorously.

“So _that’s_ what that was. Here I thought they’d brought in a lumbermill next door.” She slapped his arm and called him an ass and he tickled her and they fell together and he gave her a little peck on the cheek and she thought, _I could do this every single day_.

“Do you want me to order some food?” Chloe asked. “Maybe a breakfast burrito?”

He shook his head. They’d showered a few hours ago, because that seemed to be a good place to have sex, and he’d put his shirt on her to keep her from getting chilled. The top three buttons were open. He could see part of her breast and a hint of nipple, and decided this was another way she looked beautiful. Maybe the best way of all. “I’ll make breakfast for us later on. Right now I just want to lie here with you.” She gave a contented sigh. “What?” he asked.

“And here I was wondering if you were boyfriend material.” She pulled him down to her and gave him a soft, warm kiss. She broke off and rubbed her hand through his curls. “I think I will take a couple days off of work before I come back.” She stretched. “I don’t think I’m going to be able to walk until Wednesday.” Big Ben had struck five, although strike three had been limited to a bout of oral sex. A rather extended bout, as it went, and she reveled in the remembrance of the taste and feel of him coming in her mouth.

“Well, I told you…”

“Yes, you did. And both aspects of your stamina were working last night. And I _really love_ having sex with you, but unfortunately, _I_ don’t have celestial stamina, so we have to take it a little easy.”

They lay there together a few minutes longer. “That brings up another subject,” Chloe finally said. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“How come you’re so good at this? I mean, when I met you, you looked really hot, but you seemed kinda straight-arrow. I never figured that you’d… I mean, this is just…” She took a long, slow breath. “That one time last night… It was like I just couldn’t stop coming.”

“Well, I haven’t always been in Hell, as you know. I’ve been up here for eight years now, but I’ve popped up a number of other times as well.” He rolled onto his back and smiled at the ceiling. “What I called my ‘promiscuity phases.’”

“Your _what_?”

“First one was in ancient Greece. Those Spartan lads were certainly a randy lot. The decadence of Rome is not exaggerated, take it from me. Skipped Europe during the Dark Ages, which by the way was a grossly understated assessment of the time, went to the Far East, but found I didn’t have much of a thing for Asian women, although that appears all the rage nowadays. My personal favorite was 18th century France, at least before that dreadful Robespierre came around. But while Marie Antoinette might have lost her head, she certainly gave –”

“Lucifer!” Chloe warned, punching his arm. “This relationship stuff is new to both of us, but we’re going to have a couple of rules. First, we don’t talk about people we’ve slept or… whatever… with. Second, there will be no more promiscuity phases, or whatever you want to call them, as long as I’m....” She let the unspoken thought on both their minds drift away.

She thought some more. “Lucifer?” she said after another minute. “Your face… I mean, you know I’m okay with it, but… say we were together, I mean like, you know, making love, would it just…” One of the fun phases of a new relationship is finding about each other, but she was pretty sure that asking about devil faces wasn’t part of the “meeting cute” that rom-coms insisted on.

He chuckled and shook his head. “No, I have complete control over it. No surprises.”

“Yeah, like I said, I’m okay with it, it’s just that…”

He reached over and took her hand. “Don’t worry about _Satan Interruptus_.” He grinned. “Although for Halloween costume parties, no promises.”

She slapped him again and told him he was silly, and he tickled her. They smooched, but that turned into something more, their kisses deepening when he pulled her shirt open, his hand roaming over her breasts and then down between her legs. When he’d made her ready, she shifted underneath him, reached down, and guided his stiff cock into her.

Then they made love again. Nothing frantic, no gymnastics, just the coupling of two people whose bodies and souls now worked in perfect synchrony. He stroked into her easily, her hips arching up to meet each thrust. They climaxed at the same time, he made no attempt to roll off. They held each other as he slowly softened inside her. He brushed her hair back on her cheek and thought that if ever spending millennia in Hell could be worth something, gazing down into those bright blue eyes was it. 

“Mmmm, is there anything you _can’t_ cook?” Chloe enthused as she shoveled another forkful of pancakes into her mouth.

He took a sip of his espresso. “I’d be quite happy to make you breakfast every morning.”

She gave him a teasing smile. “You’re turning into a very good boyfriend.”

“I’ve been reading books on it.” They laughed.

After they’d polished off breakfast, Chloe asked, “This might sound like a really stupid question, but… Are you ever going to go back to Hell?”

“Well, I have to at some point. Like I said, I pop up now and then, but yes, eventually I’ll go back.” The sadness in his eyes, which she’d seen more times than she wanted to, returned. 

She studied him for a moment. “Lucifer?” she finally said. “Can you think of something I can do that would be bad? Not _really_ bad, but… just bad enough that I’d feel guilty about it?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The final twist coming up next.


	22. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe tells Linda about her impending marriage.

“Chloe!” gushed Linda as she ushered Chloe into her office. The two hugged, and when they pulled back Linda glanced down at Chloe’s hand and saw it. “Don’t tell me! You’re getting _married_?”

“Yes!” Chloe squealed. She flashed the ring. “Isn’t it beautiful?”

They took their respective seats, Chloe on the couch and Linda on the chair facing it. “Well, it looks like we have _so much_ to talk about!” Linda said. “I haven’t seen you in months. Who’s the lucky fella?”

“Lucifer!”

Linda’s eyes widened a bit. “The detective?”

“Yeah! I’m still a ‘civilian consultant,’ and it’s really cool, like I thought it would be.”

“Well, working together over a period of time can bring people together.”

“Oh, it didn’t take long. Actually, we realized we were in love with each other right after I found out that he was the Devil –”

“The Devil?” Linda gasped.

“—but we really didn’t get together, I mean _together_ together, until I died –”

“You _died_?” Linda said, barely more than a whisper.

“Yeah, and I went to Heaven, but God –” 

“G-g-g-od?” Linda stammered.

“Right. So God sent me back, because I think he realized that… well, that Lucifer and I were just meant to be with each other. So anyway, we’re getting married in three months, not going to be a lot of people, _definitely_ not a church wedding, and I wanted to ask you to be my maid of honor. I didn’t know if I should ask Maze, but she says demons don’t do that sort of thing.”

_Demons?_ Linda could only mouth the word.

“And if you want,” Chloe continued enthusiastically. “I know you’ve been seeing that Dr. Canaan down the hall, and you can bring him along as a plus one. Of course, he’s going to be there anyway. He’s actually Lucifer’s brother Amenadiel, and he’s an angel, too.”

Linda stared open-mouthed at Chloe for a few minutes longer. She finally sat up and put on her therapist face. “Well, marriage is a big thing for people to go through. Just planning for it can cause a lot of stress, and some people find that… difficult… to cope with.” Linda smiled, leaned forward, and folded her hands. “But I’m willing to work within your metaphors.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that's it, gang. I had a wonderful time doing this, and I'm happy with the way things turned out, considering that I had no idea where this was going, other than the concept, when I started. I hope you enjoyed reading it half as much as I enjoyed writing it. Your comments are greatly appreciated.


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